A Collection of Chirurgical TractsBeckett, William
Science
A Collection of Chirurgical Tracts
Beckett, William
Surgery
Subject in this Letter by adding various Things, but considering they
might better find a Place in what I just now mentioned, and that you
did not desire an exact History of the Disease, I resolved to omit
them. I shall now proceed to give you some Instances of the Success
of our Method, as being what you are most solicitous of, the Cases
I shall relate shall be each of them different from the other, for I
know you do not approve of that pompous Method of some Persons, that
enumerate abundance of Instances of Cures when perhaps there is no
great Difference in the Cases or the Method of treating them.
The most considerable Case that offered it self during our first
Enquiries into the Nature of _Cancers_, was that of a Woman, who
about Four Years before received a Blow on one of her Breasts, upon
which it began to swell, grow painful, and after some time became all
over livid, and of so prodigious a Bigness and Weight, that she was
obliged to keep it suspended by a Napkin round her Neck: But in regard
our Method was not put in Practice till by other Applications it was
become ulcerated, we shall speak of it as such. The Patient, then, at
this time complained of a very violent Pain, which extended it self
to the Back and Shoulder, by the Communication of the Nerves (for
those of the Breast come from the fifth Pair of the Spine, and from a
_Plexus_ about the _Clavicels_.) To remedy this, she had taken no small
Quantity of _Hypnotic_ Medicines, which, without Doubt, destroy the
due Texture of the Blood, and so become prejudicial to the Patient,
and disadvantagious to the _Surgeon_ that proposes a Cure. But because
Persons generally find some Relief by Opiates, as they retard the
determined Motion of the Blood, straiten the Nerves, and check the
tumultuous and disorderly Influx of the Spirits; so, probably, in
these Cases, their Use will be continued. Besides the acute Pain, the
_Cancer_ was over-spread with fungous Flesh, its lower Part extreamly
hard, knotty, blackish, and its Basis seemed inclinable to fix; the
Matter which was discharged was thin, reddish, and stank abominably.
This was the Condition of this poor Woman, when we first applied our
grand Dissolvent; the Pain she was attended with the first and second
Day after was inconsiderable, nor did she complain of more afterwards,
than would have been procured by the most mild and easy Remedy the
Dispensatory affords. In four Days Time we found a very evident
Alteration for the Better; for the Consistence of the Matter was
changed, and the Surface of the _Cancerous Mass_ became somewhat soft,
we continued the Use of the same Medicine, and in a few Days more some
part of the _Cancer_ came away with the dressing. In short, in about
six Weeks time, the whole Substance was entirely gone, and nothing
remained to be done but to heal the Ulcer, which was effected in about
a Fortnight. During the time she was under Cure we gave her a proper
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