What is Cancer?—­A cancer is a growth of cancerous cells in a network of connective tissue.  The cause of cancer is not known.  It has not been proved to be communicable and the majority of investigators of this subject believe that it is not caused by a germ.  Nor is it thought to be inherited.  Out of 8,000 cases of cancer at Middlesex Hospital, London, no evidence of heredity was found.  Until the cause of cancer is known, it cannot be prevented.  The only safeguard lies in an early diagnosis of the condition and an immediate operation.  Eminent investigators are carrying on extensive research and thousands of dollars are being spent annually to ascertain, if possible, what is the cause of this dread disease, and it is confidently believed that final success will crown this labor.

When to Suspect Cancer and What to Do.—­External or Exposed Cancer.—­Cancer of the exposed or surface parts of the body, such as the skin of the lip, nose, cheek, forehead, temples, etc., is more readily recognized than internal cancer, and is therefore more liable to early operation and prompt cure.  One rarely sees these forms of cancer in an advanced stage, because such cases are readily seen and recognized by physicians in the early stage of development, when operation can be sufficiently early to effect a lasting cure.

The least malignant of all cancers is that kind which first exhibits itself by a hardening of the skin, forming a nodule looking pimple or a mole and having a dark red color, due to tortuous blood vessels, upon the sides of the nose near the eyes, upon the cheek bones, forehead or temples.  This form of epithelioma is called rodent ulcer, flat epithelioma or cancroid and sometimes does little harm for many years, but should receive the attention of a physician familiar with cancer and its eradication.

Deep or squamous cancer occurs on the lip, the tongue or the forehead or wherever the mucous membrane joins the skin, and is characterized by a hard, deep-seated sore formed upon any such part, growing down into the flesh and having a dark red or purplish-red color.

[334 Mothers’ remedies]

If such a cancer is suspected of being present, the patient should at once seek diagnosis from a competent physician.  Cancer of the lip is more frequent in men than in women, occurring usually in the under lip and called “Smoker’s Cancer.”  Any hard persistent nodule in the under lip should cause suspicion and should be taken to a skilled surgeon, as cancer of the under lip is easily removed when in its early stage of development.

Cancer of the stomach.—­The beginning of cancer of the stomach is very difficult to recognize and it is far safer and wiser, upon the appearance of the first suspicious symptom, to seek the aid of some physician skilled in cancer diagnosis than to ignore and neglect these early warnings of the disease.  Although cancer of the stomach may occur in younger persons, it is usually met with in persons after forty years of age.  Therefore, any person at this age who suffers from continuous indigestion or characterized by retention and prolonged fermentation of food in the stomach, should at once consult a competent physician.  In the early stages of the cancer of the stomach the patient loses weight, but in the later stages there is more or less pain.