historyWellcome Collectionancient to 18th century · England
Cancer has been documented for centuries, and early treatments included mastectomy and toxic remedies
Cancer is often seen as a modern disease, but references to it appear in ancient, medieval and early modern texts. A Wellcome Collection image shows Elizabeth Hopkins of Oxford, whose cancerous breast was removed in 1689. In 1792 the Middlesex Hospital in London established Britain's first cancer wards, which accepted patients others refused and allowed doctors to study the disease. In the 19th century, surgery became the main treatment, made safer by anaesthesia and infection control, but it was largely palliative, since surgeons knew tumours could spread. Quack practitioners advertised treatments without 'knife or pain' to desperate patients. American surgeon William Halsted developed the radical mastectomy in the late 19th century. The first effective chemotherapies arrived in the 1940s, and mid-20th-century public health campaigns focused on early detection and healthy habits.
The history shows how cancer care moved from palliation to early detection and chemotherapy, and how medical understanding has changed over centuries.
background
Cancer is a group of diseases involving uncontrolled cell growth typically resulting in tumors with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These malignant tumors contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.
About 33% of deaths from cancer are caused by tobacco and alcohol, obesity, lack of fruit and vegetables in the diet and lack of exercise. Other factors include certain infections, exposure to ionizing radiation, and environmental pollutants. Infection with specific viruses, bacteria, and parasites causes approximately 16–18% of cancers worldwide. These infectious agents include Helicobacter pylori, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HPV. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not directly cause cancer, but it causes immune deficiency that can increase the risk of cancer from other infections, sometimes up to several thousandfold. Vaccination against the hepatitis B virus and the human papillomavirus have been shown to nearly eliminate the risk of cancers caused by these viruses.
From Wikipedia: Cancer (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗.jpg)
Wellcome Collection · CC BY 4.0
