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19
As far as this district is concerned, there is no lack of facilities
for diagnosis or treatment. Our proximity to the large hospitals in
London ana the homes of the recognised authorities upon the
various forms of Cancer, places all the facilities for diagnosis and
treatment within the easy reach of all patients.
The Ministry of Health suggests that measures should be considered
for improving the local facilities for clinical consultations
and for pathological examination, for improving the local facilities
for Cancer treatment (operative, provision of X-ray and radium
treatment), and the provision of adequate arrangements for this
purpose at local hospitals, institutions, etc., which serve the area.
For reasons stated above, in this district, the lack of these
facilities is not the chief difficulty.
The chief difficulty in carrying out curative treatment lies in
the reluctance of patients to seek early medical advice.
In some cases there is a diffidence to seek medical advice. Some
people have a suspicion, or even a belief, that there is something
the matter with them, but hug the knowledge to themselves from
dread of the truth. Probably, these people form but a small
minority. In the majority of instances, Cancer in the early stages
is painless, and the symptoms of the disease are only a slight
deviation or exaggeration of what are considered normal processes.
These slight symptoms are disregarded through ignorance of their
significance. These early stages are the favourable ones for immediate
operation. In any condition in which cancer is suspected,
immediate and decisive action is necessary. Quack remedies are
only a waste of time and money; at best, they are useless, and at
worst, aggravate the disease.
At the Conference, it was felt that there is a field for propaganda
work in the education locally of the public, and that the two
points around which this work should centre are the family doctor
and the local public health authority. If early advice were sought,
the one from whom this would be sought would be the general
practitioner, but the complaint of the doctor is that the patients do
not come to him at a sufficiently early stage to enable him to apply
successful treatment.
There are certain facts about Cancer which ought to be known,
and the dissemination of the knowledge might save lives and
alleviate much suffering, and one essential fact is that the patient
should not postpone or delay seeking competent medical advice.
By whom the advice should be given is a debatable question. It
has been suggested that the ordinary agencies of public health
departments should be utilised for this purpose, notably by instruction
at Welfare Centres, and also by midwives, maternity and
district nurses. The Royal Society of Medicine recommended that
the British Red Cross Society might be asked to conduct a publicity
campaign by means of lectures and phamplets.