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Show "SPEED" By Dr. Charles S. Cameron Medical and Scientific Director, American Cancer Society Ever since that distant day when man first invented the wheel, the desire to ease our burdens by inventive genius has taken a turn toward greater speed. Volta and others who discovered the mysterious effects ef-fects of electromagnitism opened new pathways to speed. The mighty forces of steam, the gasoline internal combustion combus-tion engine and finally shattering of the time barrier by jet propulsion give rise to the thought, "What's the hurry?" Many critics contend that speed, especially on our highways, is a great waste of lives. Yet there is one instance in-stance in which it may do just the opposite. It might save thousands of lives each year, the lives of those who have cancer. The only "wonder drug" that can save the lives of right out of every 1,000 apparently healthy Americans who nevertheless have cancer is "speed." Speed, meaning early detection and widespread public pub-lic participation in the American Cancer Society's detection detec-tion program, already is showing results. A study in Vermont Ver-mont revealed that the number of patients found with early . . and controlable . . cancer ha. nearly tripled in the past 10 years. A Mayo Clinic survey indicated that women are discovering breast cancers in earlier, less dangerous dan-gerous stages. A Metropolitan Life Insurance Company study reported a 11 per cent decline in cancer death rate among women policy holders in a 10-year period. The need to detect, diagnose and treat cancer early is only one aspect of the urgency of cancer control. There are others. We need to apply speed to research and in providing pro-viding services for the cancer patient. These too are going go-ing forward. Above all, and quickly, we need to recognize cancer as a threat which is growing to the proportions of a national emergency, and to meet it as we have always met national na-tional emergencies, by giving of ourselves and our means to its defeat. |