A BOOK OF THE MOMENT.
- CANCER. - - - Cancer. By J. Ellis Barker: With an.IntroilUction by-. sire W. Arbuthnot Lane. (Murray. 78 6d.- -net.) Spicu Mr. J. Ellis Barker Sets out to-reveal the far-reaching physical and niiiinatelypientai effects of what may justifiably be called an *eia Of dietetic barbarism, his book has the deepest imnort ior the maintenance of civilization itself.: The most' grimly significant of these effects is the- eitormon.s itiicreaie in the incidence of cancer in all civilizedf.riountriei: Scotland, for example, in the short space 1901-1922 the number of deaths from cancer increased by 80 per cent. . . . 4i 1901, nearly twice as many Scotch people died from con- sumption as died from cancer. In 1922, 50 per cent. more Scotehmen died from cancer, than from., consumption." It
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Would seem that one scourge is being replaced by another. A similar absolute increase is shown by statistics from all parts of the world, even from Japan. Moreover, this incidence of cancer, although progressing by greater leaps in the last twenty years in the British Isles, has shown a steady increase from as far back as statistics are available, in fact, practically fiom the beginning of last century. - Barker says that with the present mortality rate five million people now living in the British Isles are doomed to die of cancer, and if it increases as it has been doing of recent years, that figure may mount to anything from six to eight millions.
Despite the researches of many able doctors and biologists we are as far from knowing the specific cause, of cancer as ever. There is, in fact, a good deal to be said against the theory of a specific organism. Cane& differs so widely in structure in different organs and in the same organ in different people, that it is difficult to See hoW One organism or even one type of Organism could give rise to such a baffling pathology. It becomes clear in the course of the book, however, that whether or not we shall finally discover an organismal cause, every- thing points to the overwhelming importance from the practi- cal point of view of " chronic irritation " as a predisposing cause. In the absence of a definitely proved specific organism one may regard " chronic irritation " in its widest sense as the exciting cause of cancer. How is this irritation brought about ? The author shows how commonly cancer occurs in those exposed by their occupation to the continued' action of external irritant poisons Such as shale-oil, coal-tar, and ani- lines. These industrial cancers, however, constitute a very small proportion of the total cases amongst the general popu- lation. The great majority of the cases appear to be due to the effect of internal poisons either self-generated or ingested. In most cases probably both factors contribute.
Since the advent of the machine age, the consumption of mechanically or artificially, prepared' or manufactured .foods has become enormous. In the- process of preparation certain subtle constituents are destroyed. These substances are called vitamines. They have been proved to be essential for the maintenance of healthy functioning of the human Organism. Indeed, they are magical in their far-reaching effects. They, in fact, constitute the essential difference between real human or "live" food and merely ingested Matter. Such diseases as scurvy, beri-beri and rickets have been found beyond all doubt to be due to -the absence of one or another of them. Short of such clearly defined dis- eases, when there is a shortage of vitamines in the diet, the general nutrition and tone of the body suffers. Amongst specific results constipation is One of the most frequent, and it may be said deadly, from its effect in setting up " bowel poisoning." But this is not all. Many foods, even " fresh " foods, are treated with preservatives, Whetting !natter, &c:p (borax in butter, for example). It is title that they are usually not found in large quantities in food, but they are used very extensively. Here is another source of long con- tinued irritation by substances which are in some cases deadly poisons if consumed in larger iloses, An insidious double process of poisoning associated with vitamine starvation may therefore go on for many years. Mr. Barker's thesis is that
such a process sooner or later will end in cancer.- - — Sir Arbuthnot Lane, who writes an enthusiastic intro-
dilLtion to book' and who is a_pioneer in inigical matters pertaining to intestinal poisoning, is frequently , quoted to show the how and the wherefore of the occurrence of cancer in various parts of the digestive tract. Some pungent and cogent quotations from the writings of Dr. Leonard Williams draw attention amongst other dietetic and hygienic points tou. the folly of too many. nd,too much cooked foods. This Mania for cooking, which kills the vitamines (routine boiling of milk, for example), is Born of an insane-and undiscriminating fear of " microbes," some' of 'whfch'in their proper place are our best friends. The authority 'Of colonel: MeCarri3on's well-known experiments on the diet of animals is also ,extezi- siely drawn upon, the results of which, unlike those of many animal jexneriments, have valid application to the human qiii)jeet. Afitny other eminent men are quoted of one from the medical Or other standpoint probably not one blit
in his own function is unimpeachable. The book is, in short, a painstaking and exhaustive marshalling of the most pet- tinent facts concerning cancer, out of which the author con- structs in a convincing way a chain of causal connexh0 between dietetic ignorance, " chronic irritation " and this horrible disease. The above will allay any suspicion that Mi. Barker, as a layman, may not speak with authority. He speaks, in fact, with a kind of two-fold authority. Mi. Barker considers that after a long period of chronic invalidism, he himself was in the "pre-cancerous" state. Huinanly and medically sneaking this is more than likely. Becoming aware of some of the principles expounded in the present book, he regained his health. Therefore, sound and • scientific as it is, it has the additional merit of a work of enthusiasm. .
No medical man, we say, can be exempted from the necessity of grasping the essential significance and, so far as he can, the detail of this book. It is for the medical profession to take hold of a startled public opinion and mould it according to the principles expressed and implied. By boldly exerting the full force of their authority they may stem the tide of refined, " doctored," devitalized and mummified foods and lead the mass of the people back to dietetic sanity. Inci- dentally, they may put an end to these days of overcrowded surgeries, stock mixtures, rule of thumb methods and other dreary features of the medicine of the machine age. It may be asked what is the fatal basis of this civilizid barbarism in the matter of human food. " The body ia! a big sagacity," said Nietzsche. There is 'every sign that !live are losing that. sagacity. We are losing " awareness " ' of Vital bodily needs. The truth is that the mass of civiliied mankind is hypnotized by commercialized " science." " Pre- digested " and " readily assimilable " foods have a deadly suggestiveness for the modern man who feels out of soils —whose instincts are degenerating. They appeal to his exaggerated and depraved longing for security and " con- venience " of existence. So he eats " conveniently " and " scientifically." But the mills of God grind slowly. . . . His teeth are doomed to fall out, while his colon drops down, and the cancer rate rises in relentless and sinister fashion. '
When. the instincts deteriorate, all values also deteriorate. The converse of this is eqUally true. If a man eats viciously it is more than likely that he will be a bad philosopher, and if a man makes a beast of himself in dialectics, his dietetics also will be suspect. It is impossible, then, to say which process is primary—degeneration of instincts or degeneratiOn of values. It may simply be said that in the dialectics of an aeon they occur together and that the result is decadence. One fatal sign of decadence is the belief that " man is what he eats," as Moleschott said. Moleschott forgot that above all man is a spiritual being. This fundamental and imperative realization is in danger of being lost, and with it the dignity of nian. Is dignity not already lost when it is possible tto hear " But the poster said the food was pre-digested'!" There' is :grim' :cOnsedy about this contradiction in terms, It is- !hissed, however, by the man whose sole criterion of progress is a greater and greater output of mechanical aids to ease and security. The desire for ease and security means a going with the stream, with the drift of things. P4yeho- logically this is the .eclipse of -" awareness,": because true dynamic " awareness " comes from the struggle against the stream. It may seem a far cry from the black physicality of the scourge of a disease like cancer, to the SpirittlaUtind moral ground of both the pathology and physiology of man kind, but for those whoilave the will to penetrate into this
giound of being, the connexion is clear and portentous. To the blundering pseudo-scientist and ,mummifier of human food it is a terra incognita. Let it not be forgotten that the mummifiers of food, the rationalistic " faddists," the abomin- able cranks and the whole " clinched-jawed " and mis- believing horde of " scientific " materialists of these days are also the mummifiers of human values and preachers of death. Let it still less be forgotten that the spirit is the final arbiter of all values. Those blind leaders of the blind, how- ever, have waged a war against the spirit and against all spiritual values, so that civilized mankind is suffering, and is like to suffer, a dire and awful Nemesis for their leadership. A priori, in the deepest ground, the redemption from cancer must surely come through a renaissance of spiritual values. New joy and new laughter must bubble up once more from the gracious spring of refreshed and revivified instinct.
JAMES YOUNG.
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