Document G5ELmJjQKYzg629O3y7GxKR6v

FILE NAME: Newspaper & Magazine Articles (NMA) DATE: 1952 DOC#: NMA116 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Chicago Daily Tribune - How to Keep Well HOW TO KEEP WELL Theodore R Van Dellen Daily Tribune (18 72-1963); Jan 21. I').52; ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune ( 1X4') - l')8 rfoTfaodbhtKXtnDeffeit j To the limit o; apace, questions pertaining to the prevention of disease will be answered. Person al replies will be made when re turn stamped envelope is inclosed. Telephone inquiries not accepted. Dr. Van Dellen will not make di agnoses or prescribe for individ ual diseases. HEAVY SMOKING AND LUNG CANCER [Copyright: 1 9 5 a: By The Chicago Tribune] C ANCER of the lung continues on tlie increase. I t now is the second most commonmalignancy in males and in some institutions has passed cancer of t h e stom ach, to take first place. F o r th e fsIp S QM S . "'*J j more opti( J mistic side of the pic ture, more than 90 per cent of the cases can be diagnosed b e f o r e it is too late ___ and modem w * " surgery has proved most successful. Altho the cause is not known, many theories have been ad vanced. Cigarets are the main 1arget and logically so, because the disease is more prevalent in men and is on the rise, as is the consumption of tobacco. Absolute proof is lacking but many physi cians are dogmatic about smoking as the cause and offer evidence that is extremely convincing. Dr. Evarts A. Graham of St. Louis led the fight in this direction. Most of their conclusions stem from a study of the smoking habits of 684 persons with lung cancers. These patients came from ail parts of the country and all social and economic classes. Of the 605 male victims of the disease, 96.5 per cent had smoked more than one-half package of cigarets daily for more than 20 years. This compares with 180 men, or 73.7 pei cent in the same age group without lung cancer who had smoked as much as the men with cancer. The difference is not great but demonstrates the difficulty of making a statistical study of this kind because smok ing is so prevalent in this country. On the other hand, the figures be come a little more convincing when more than a pack a day has been used for at least 30 years. Of the cancer group, 51.2 per cent fell into this category compared with 19.1 per cent of the controls. But not every one with cancer was a smoker; 2 per cent abstained com pletely or smoked less than a half pack a day. No attempt was made to classify the victims as to pipe, cigar, and cigaret smok ing. Women do not smoke as much as men and it often is stated that this is the reason why cancer of the lung is more common in men. Numerous studies along this line have given inconclusive results. There is no agreement on the ratio of men to women smokers, or men to women cancer victims. Graham concludes, however, that a correlation seems to exist be tween heavy smoking over a long period and cancer of the lung. The answer will not be forthcoming until it becomes possible to pro duce cancer experimentally from some or all of the products con tained in cigaret smoke. Mean while the problem remains an in dividual one and each person must be his own judge. Other irritants also have been incriminated but without proof. These include industrial dusts from chromater, asbestos, tar, radioactive gases ar.d dusts, nickel, and many others. Gasoline and oil fumes belong in the same category. The bronchitis associ ated with the influenza pandemic of 1917-18 has been entered as s. contender. This is understandable because the epidemic has been blamed for every other human ill, so why not lung cancer? Ample studies have disproved this belief: the age group and the sex ratio are not in keeping with the con tention. For tlie time being, it is wise for al! of us tc be on the lookeiut for the disease. X-ray is in order whenever an unusual cough de-1 Ivelops or there . is pain in the chest that fails to disappear w ith-' !in a reasonable length of time. The same can be said when blood | appears in the tputum or unex plained fever exists. I TO M O RRO W : The mighty mite causes wholesale itching. FLUORIDATED WATER , B. T. writes: Is it safe for a grownup to drink water to which fluoride has been added to prevent ( cavity in children's tooth? REPLY Yes, provided the usual concen tration of the chemical Is not exceeded. enlarged heart M. S. writes: Is any operation possible for an enlarged heart? My father has this condition, REPLY I doubt it, but why not ask your father's pliysiefon whether the con dition causing the enlargement can be changed thru surgery. STONE SQUATTERS ! N. J. writes: Could a person goj thru life with gallstones without having to be operated on? REPLY Yes, and many persons do. Autop sy studies have demonstrated the presence ot gallstones In many in dividuals who were unaware of the condition, 'ARTHRITIS AND DIARRHEA I L. Z. writes: Are frequent a t tacks of diarrhea common in arthritis? REPLY No, but certain anti-arthritic med ications may cause diarrhea. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.