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Show Vaccines Offer Best New Hope Against Cancer A cancer killing virus while not ready for human use, has been effective in animals and may offer us new hope in the war against cancer, according to the March Reader's Digest. The disclosure is made in a panel interview with four internationally inter-nationally known cancer authorities, author-ities, conducted by writer J. D. Ratcliff. Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, director of the Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, told Ratcliff: "There is considerable evidence evi-dence that some viruses have an affinity for cancer cells. Right now we have two viruses which destroy cancers in rats without harming the animals themselves. We are seeking viruses which will have the same type of activity ac-tivity in man." He also said, "We now have reason to believe that the healty individual has natural defenses against cancer. A better understanding under-standing of it may lead to a vaccine vac-cine type of protector against cancer." The others taking part in the symposium were Dr. John R. Heller, director, National Cancer Institute; Dr. Harold S. Diehl, senior vice president for medical affairs, American Cancer Society and Dr. I. S. Rivdin, professor of surgery, University of Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Diehl noted that the national na-tional cancer rate has gone up 36 per cent since 1935. "This is explained in part by better diagnosis, di-agnosis, in part by an aging population. pop-ulation. Yet the increase cannot be explained by the two factors alone." The cause of cancer, the four agreed, still is unknown. Dr. Heller warned that the mail promotion of quack and fraudulent cancer "cures" is at an all time high. "Beware of anyone who claims to have "a secret cure," he warned. No such thing exists. The great danger is that the quack can delay proper treatment until all hope of a cure is gone. To the question, "Will there soon be a solution to the cancer problem?" Dr. Ravdin answers, "A breakthrough may come at any moment, or it may lie years ahead." The article is titled, "Facts Everyone Should Know About Cancer." |