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38
The Tuberculosis Dispensary was established in 1913 and when
one considers that Tuberculosis was one of the first of the diseases to
receive ' undivided ' attention, it must be admitted that progress in
the elimination of this scourge appears to be slow in comparison with
the advancement achieved in respect of other deadly diseases.
Cancer.— This disease was responsible for a total of 167 deaths
with a Death Rate of 1.87 per thousand— a decrease of 0.1 from that
of 1949. The number of deaths for the previous five years were 127,
137, 142, 152, and 170.
The distribution of the deaths was as follows:— 70 in East
Greenwich, 40 in West Greenwich, 8 in St. Nicholas, Deptford, and
49 in Charlton and Kidbrooke.

In 1939 13.8% of all deaths in England and Wales were attributed
to Cancer and by 1942 the corresponding figure was 14.6. The
death rate from Cancer increased from 0.32 per 1,000 living in
1851 1860, to 1.12 in 1911-1920 and to 1.7 in 1942.
In Greenwich this increase has been apparent since 1901; in
that year Cancer was responsible for 4.2% of the total deaths in the
Borough. This figure rose to 5.7% in 1911, to 10% in 1921 and to
14.1% in 1931 ; the percentage for the current year is 18.
It is obvious that improved diagnosis and more accurate certification
of the cause of death have accounted for a part of this increase,
and even allowing for the fact that the proportion of middleaged
and elderly persons in the population is greater now than
formerly, the increase is still significant.
In 1924, when it was evident that Cancer deaths were about to
supersede those of Tuberculosis, the Public Health Committee
formed a Sub-Committee to consider the Ministry's Circulars and
Memoranda Nos. 476, 496 and 516. After the Sub-Committee's
deliberations a pamphlet was issued for general distribution to the
public in which prompt medical advice was urged when any unusual
symptoms were observed whether or not these were associate d with