History of Cancer Treatment From Time To Time
When we hear the word cancer, we immediately think of a deadly disease, but where did the word cancer come from? and is there a medicine to cure it?
Short Definition of Cancer
Cancer is a disease in which cells divide rapidly and irregularly due to DNA damage to these cells, what makes a cancer cell very dangerous is that they can metastasize to other organs and damage these organs. This is what distinguishes cancer cells from benign tumors. It can metastasize or spread to other organs. Just imagine, there are skin cells growing in the human brain
History of cancer
Many think that cancer is a disease of modern times due to poor human lifestyle and pollution or there are also those who think that cancer is a cursed disease.
In fact, cancer was first discovered in ancient Greece!, Hippocrates was the person who first discovered cases of cancer, and was given the name carcinos or carcinoma which means large ulcers (tumors).
Hippocrates thought that the main cause of cancer was an imbalance of blood and bile, but the ancient Greeks thought that draft cancer was a punishment from the gods.
The development of cancer treatment from time to time
Ancient Times
In ancient Greece or 1500 BC, Hippocrates destroyed tumors in the breast by piercing a fire torch or hot iron.
Then start removing the tumor by performing surgical removal of the tumor, imagine how painful the surgery was at that time.
1846 - Anesthesia
In 1846 the first use of anesthesia for the removal of tumors by William T.G. Morton from patient custody. Morton introduced ether as an anesthetic to make the operation go smoothly without pain
1870 - Horrible Facts
In 1870 the English surgeon Campbell de Morgan explained his hypothesis of cancer metastasis, in which cancer cells can spread to other organs. this is the reason why cancer is so difficult to cure, a very scary fact.
1896 - First Radiotherapy
In 1896 the first use of radiotherapy was used by Victor Despeignes to kill cancer cells in the patient's stomach.
Thanks to Marie Curie's discovery of radioactive elements, doctors explained that radiation from radium could damage cancer cells.
1906 - Poison Use
In 1906 Paul Ehrlich discovered chemotherapy from nitrogen mustard, which can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, the chemical was actually used in world wars as a poison against enemies.
Paul Ehrlich also explained that the development of tumors is closely related to the immune system, therefore immunotherapy, which uses the immune system to fight cancer cells, has become a mainstay weapon in modern times.
1943 - First Pap Smear
In 1943 the PAP test or screening for cervical cancer was introduced, George Papanicolaou succeeded in creating a screening that could detect cancer and pre-cancerous cells so as to reduce mortality from cervical cancer.
1950 - Smoking Ban
In 1950, the Royal College of Physicians published the link between cancer and smoking, especially lung cancer, after which the tobacco ban campaign became a top priority in order to reduce lung cancer victims.
From here, the calls and images of threats to smokers became popular
1960 - First Hormonal Treatment
In 1960, Charles Huggins conducted a study that showed that hormonal treatment in patients with prostate and breast cancer could be carried out with satisfactory results.
1970 - Use of CT Scan
In 1970, the invention of the CT scan (computed tomography), was first used to scan a female patient with a brain tumor using x-rays to locate the tumor without damaging the tissue.
1975 - Future Hope
In 1975, George Kohler and Cesar Milsten succeeded in developing monoclonal antibodies from cancer cells.
2010 - Use of Vaccines to Fight Cancer
In 2010, the discovery of a vaccine to prevent several cancers caused by viruses, including the Human Papilloma Virus/HPV (cervical and throat cancer) and hepatitis B virus (liver).
