{"id":28405,"date":"2022-10-13T09:53:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T09:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=24749"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:13:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:13:14","slug":"how-the-history-of-medicine-influenced-our-perception-of-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/how-the-history-of-medicine-influenced-our-perception-of-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"How the history of medicine influenced our perception of cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Free Cancer Hospital, Kensington, London, established 1851.<\/p>\n

” data-medium-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cancer_hospital_brompton-cropped-300×168.jpg” data-large-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Cancer_hospital_brompton-cropped.jpg”><\/p>\n

The Free Cancer Hospital, Kensington, London, established 1851. Credit: The Free Cancer Hospital, Kensington, London: aerial view. Wood engraving, 1859. Wellcome Collection<\/a>. Public Domain Mark<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Do you know why it\u2019s called cancer?<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first identification of the word cancer is from the A<\/span>ncient Greeks. They used the term \u2018karkinos\u2019, which translates in Latin to canker or cancer to describe a particular kind of tumour,\u201d explains Dr Alanna Skuse.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe word \u2018karkinos\u2019 actually means crab, because like a crab, the body of the tumour is round and red. And like a crab, it would grab hold of the person and not let go.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But beyond just influencing why we call it \u2018cancer\u2019, the history of cancer has also had a huge impact on the way we view, and even treat cancer, today. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

A lecturer in English Literature at the University of Reading, Skuse has a particular interest in how people wrote and thought about bodies and medicine in the Renaissance and early modern period in Britain<\/a>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

From the language we use to talk about cancer, to the cancer types that receive the most funding, there\u2019s a lot that we don\u2019t realise has been hugely influenced by the past, she explains.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCancer is a really good example of science and culture being intertwined with each other, and not really being very easy to separate out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The many-headed hydra of Lerna here represents the ability of cancer cells to proliferate when some of them are extirpated<\/p>\n

” data-medium-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-240×300.jpg” data-large-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-820×1024.jpg” class=” size-medium wp-image-24753″ src=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-240×300.jpg” alt=”An old poster warning of the dangers of cancer – the many-headed hydra of Lerna here represents the ability of cancer cells to proliferate when some of them are extirpated” width=”240″ height=”300″ srcset=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-240×300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-820×1024.jpg 820w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-768×959.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-1230×1536.jpg 1230w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-1639×2048.jpg 1639w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-1600×1999.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-1240×1549.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Vaincre-le-cancer-150×187.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px”><\/p>\n

Credit: A sword slaying the hydra; representing the fight against cancer. Colour lithograph after G. Georget, 1960. Wellcome Collection<\/a>. In copyright<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The anthropomorphism of cancer <\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

A crab isn\u2019t the only animal that cancer has been compared to. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI<\/span>n the 17th century people talked about cancer as being like an animal that ate the body of the sufferer,\u201d explains Skuse. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople called cancer the wolf, because it \u2018ate up\u2019 the person.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t just a linguistic quirk. The idea was actually translated into practice. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome doctors would even apply raw meat to a cancerous ulcer, so that the wolf could feast on that for a while instead of \u2018eating\u2019 the patient. But the cultural idea also influenced scientists, who had just got hold of microscopes on a large scale.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When scientists began examining tumour cells in more detail, they concluded that cancer was alive in an animate sense \u2013 that it was almost parasitic. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has massively influenced how we talk about cancer now,\u201d adds Skuse. \u201cWe have a language for cancer that is much more adversarial than with other diseases. We\u2019re always talking about \u2018we\u2019re going to kick cancer\u2019s butt, we\u2019re going to battle cancer\u2019 and so on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

The history of cancer is particularly salient. Because so much of what we do around cancer seems to be influenced by rhetoric that we might not even know why we\u2019re using it. But it is really strong, this rhetoric of battling cancer or cancer being a kind of entity that we need to fight or defeat or kill.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dr Alanna Skuse <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At Cancer Research UK, we know that \u2018<\/span>violence\u2019 metaphors can, in some circumstances, cause<\/span><\/a> harm<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, <\/span>some research<\/span><\/a> has found that the use of war metaphors and battle language around cancer could create more fear around treatment and leave people feeling more fatalistic about a diagnosis. <\/span>This language didn\u2019t just influence how we talk about cancer today, but also how we treat it. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the terminology that developed in the 17<\/span>th <\/span>century contributed to the perception of<\/span> cancer as an \u2018enemy\u2019, so much so that doctors first decided to treat it very aggressively with poisons. During this time, arsenic and mercury were prescribed as treatments in the hope that they would kill the cancer before they killed the patient. And those were effectively the first chemotherapies.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe other thing to consider is that the adversarial narrative that we\u2019ve inherited from history has fostered an environment in which heroic cures for cancer (brand-new drugs, or brand-new surgical procedures) are given far more emphasis than incremental improvements to existing therapies, or prevention of disease, or early and accurate diagnosis,\u201d adds Skuse. <\/span>\u201cThese are all things that could improve outcomes for people, but they don\u2019t all have the same \u2018battling the beast\u2019 kind of resonance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201dIf you want to hear more from Dr Alanna Skuse, have a listen to the latest episode of our podcast, That Cancer Conversation, titled \u2018Why haven\u2019t we cured cancer?\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Language and humour<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

Medieval medicine was largely based on the concept that the human body was composed of 4 different fluids, known as \u2018humours\u2019.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The humours \u2013 blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm \u2013 were believed to determine a person\u2019s temperament. If the humours became imbalanced, it would lead to ill health. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

While the concept originated from the ancient Greeks, the theory persisted in various forms all the way through the medieval period and into the Renaissance. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the concept of the 4 humours was so important in the understanding of European medicine that it influenced the disposition of many of Shakespeare\u2019s renowned characters. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we start to see different medical models coming in, which are a little bit closer to what we would think of as a modern understanding of medicine,\u201d explains Skuse. \u201cBut because the humours are so deeply ingrained in society by that point, it\u2019s very slow for them to actually recede from public awareness.\u201d <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

So even into the 19<\/span>th<\/span> century, although doctors had developed a different understanding of medicine, the 4 humours were still largely how people were aware of their own bodies, and they still used that language in their everyday lives.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to think about how that belief in a melancholy humour [black bile] causing cancer might have translated forwards to beliefs that a lot of people seem to have today,\u201d Skuse considers. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

She points out the misconception \u201cthat people who are very stressed or have very negative things happen to them in their lives are more likely to get cancers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cancer contagion and stigma<\/span><\/h2>\n

Language isn\u2019t the only thing that influenced our perception, and treatment, of cancer today. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the 18<\/span>th<\/span> and 19<\/span>th<\/span> centuries, the number of cancer diagnoses began to increase. This was partly because, as the plague began to subside, people were more likely to live longer and therefore more likely to die of cancer, but also because doctors were getting better at identifying and diagnosing cancer. <\/span><\/p>\n

As cancer cases began to rise, and the industrial revolution unfolded in Britain, it became more apparent that some groups of people were more likely to get cancer. For example, chimney sweeps, who came into contact with carcinogens in soot, started getting cancer at a relatively high rate. \u201cAnd unfortunately, this led some people to draw the conclusion that cancer was actually contagious,\u201d says Skuse. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

During the medieval period some people believed cancer was a form of leprosy, but the idea of cancer being contagious resurfaces in the 18<\/span>th<\/span> Century. \u201cSo in 1779, the first dedicated cancer hospital was founded in Reims in France, but it was forced to move, partly because people feared that it was going to spread,\u201d Skuse says. <\/span><\/p>\n

The fear of catching cancer actually had a long hangover and really contributed to the stigmatisation of cancer. \u201cSo that even until very recently, we\u2019d say that people died after a long illness, instead of saying they died of cancer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018A woman\u2019s disease\u2019<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n
\"Surgical<\/p>\n

Credit: Breast cancer, 16th Century. Wellcome Collection<\/a>. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While it began to emerge that some external factors could influence the chances of developing cancer, one theory about who was more likely to get cancer persisted. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a very early stage, certainly from the medieval period onwards, cancer was believed to be a disease that mostly affected women. And it\u2019s a kind of chicken and egg situation,\u201d explains Skuse. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

This was partly because breast cancers were easier to spot and diagnose than other cancers. But doctors also believed that women\u2019s bodies in particular, needed to regularly get rid of humours in order to stay healthy.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary way women were believed to get rid of their humours was through menstruation,\u201d says Skuse. \u201cSo, if a woman stopped menstruating, say at the menopause, she was then at risk of cancer.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, as well as being one of the most recognised cancers, breast cancer was one of the few cancers that surgeons would attempt to treat surgically, with a mastectomy. This was long before the invention of anaesthetic.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWomen who had these operations were incredibly brave,\u201d adds Skuse.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

An early first-person account of cancer treatment is from a novelist called Frances Burney. Burney had a mastectomy in 1811. And afterwards she wrote to her sister, where she described how she could feel and hear the knife scraping against her ribs.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Oh no! presently the terrible cutting was renewed \u2013 & worse than ever, to separate the bottom, the foundation of this dreadful gland from the parts to which it adhered \u2013 Again all description would be baffled \u2013 yet again all was not over, \u2013 Dr. Larry rested but his own hand, & \u2013 Oh heaven! \u2013 I then felt the knife (rack)ling against the breast bone \u2013 scraping it!<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n

An extract from Frances Burney\u2019s letter to her sister.<\/span> <\/span><\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The bravery of the women willing to undergo these surgeries likely contributed to the idea of cancer being \u2018a women\u2019s disease\u2019 and this idea was carried through centuries, for good and bad. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that today breast cancer funding can often outstrip funding for other kinds of cancer. But it also means that cancer has been associated with stigmatised times in women\u2019s lives, particularly the onset of menopause.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The importance of looking back<\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n

Cancer is often about looking forwards, to the horizon, to the latest treatments and cutting-edge technology. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

And whilst scientific research is often advancing, it\u2019s helpful to think about how the past has influenced what we see around us today. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe often imagine that science is this sort of shining thing that sits completely apart from the rest of life,\u201d add Skuse. But crucially, as she points out, scientists only get the answers to the questions they ask. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cScientists are human beings and the questions they ask are influenced by cultural and political factors \u2013 what people want to see and what governments want to fund. Looking at the history of medicine is an important reminder of this.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Lilly<\/em><\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit: A sword slaying the hydra; representing the fight against cancer. Colour lithograph after G. Georget, 1960. Wellcome Collection. In copyright The anthropomorphism of cancer A crab isn\u2019t the only animal that cancer has been compared to. \u201cIn the 17th century people talked about cancer as being like an animal that ate the body of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43175,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28405\/revisions\/43175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}