Cancer: Its Cause and Treatment, Volume 2 (of 2)Bulkley, Lucius Duncan
Science
Cancer: Its Cause and Treatment, Volume 2 (of 2)
Bulkley, Lucius Duncan
Cancer
The general condition had improved so greatly that she was out of bed
all day, but the body weight dropped quite a little, to 104½ pounds,
only to rise again four weeks later to 111¼ pounds. By October 10th the
wound was secreting very little, she slept well with no opiate, and
complained little of pain, day or night, and by October 28th it seemed
as though the disease was being overcome, as there was some evidence of
cicatrization in certain portions of the wound. All this continued for a
month or more, when she had a number of severe hemorrhages from the
wound and the hemoglobin fell to 60 per cent and the red corpuscles to
2,100,000. From this, however, she rallied under an intravenous saline
injection and Murphy drip, and the hemoglobin rose to 75 per cent, and
on May 21st the red corpuscles were actually 4,110,000.
I must not weary you with too many of these details, nor can I indicate
to you the varied treatment which was employed from time to time. I can
only add that she had her ups and downs, but finally succumbed on July
3rd, 1915, about a year after entering the hospital.
The case was a very interesting one and exhibited certainly some of the
beneficial results of treatment, although in such a hopeless case, with
such a mass of ulcerating cancerous tissue as she presented, secreting
its poisonous hormone, any other end could hardly be expected. There is
no question, however, but that life was greatly prolonged and much
comfort secured, as to sleep, diminution of pain and offensive
discharge, etc. The case was watched with interest by members of the
attending staff, and careful laboratory studies of the blood and
volumetrical analyses of the urine were made weekly; the latter was
generally scanty, running even as low as nine ounces a day, though of a
fair specific gravity, and it was very difficult to raise the total
solid urinary output to anywhere near a normal standard. The saliva,
tested and recorded before and after each meal, was commonly acid, often
strongly so, though at periods it would be neutral and occasionally
became alkaline for a while under active treatment.
I have taken up so much of your time with cancer of the breast that
little is left for consideration of the disease in other localities, and
I will be as brief as possible:
CANCER OF THE UTERUS.—Two cases, in private practise, among the eight of
cancer in this location which are on my list, are so interesting and
remarkable that I must give them somewhat in full. I may say that the
other cases had little or no satisfactory treatment. One of these two
would gladly present herself for your inspection, that you might verify
her present condition of excellent health, but she lives in Bangor,
Maine, and now only comes on periodically; this is in order to be sure
that she continues in the straight and narrow road necessary to keep her
free from her previous distressing condition. The case is as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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