SCIRRHUS AND CANCER.

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When all other medicines fail, recourse must be had to opium,as a kind of solace. This will not, indeed, cure the disease, butit will ease the patient's agony, and render life more tolerablewhile it continues.

To avoid this dreadful disorder, people ought to use wholesomefood ; to take sufficient exercise in the open air ; to be as easy andrheerful as possible; and carefully to guard against all blows,bruises, and every kind of pressure upon the breasts, or otherglandular parts.*

In the Jong catalogue of human affections, there is scarcely oneto be more dreaded than the cancer. It is no less painful thanloathsome ; it kills by inches ; is seldom cured except by the knife ;and even that does not always succeed. I have frequently seensmall tumours in the breast, which might perhaps have ended incancers, yield to the camphorated mercurial ointment, appliedtwice a-day; but after the scirrhus had broke and become a can-cer, I do not remember having ever seen it cured ; nor do f believethat the whole materia medica can affiard a remedy for it.

Yet there are plenty of people in London who cure cancers ; sndno one, who has a sufficient share of faith, can be at a loss fora cancer-doctor. One may see even the fronts of houses inscribedwith the words, " Cancers cured here," in large characters. I late-ly had a patient, who once fancied that her breast was a little can-cerous, and, under that impression, was kept for two years in thehands of a female cancer-curer, though the lady in reality had notthe least symptom of a cancer about her.f

But credulity is a disease of the mind still more incurable thancancers. I had occasion, a few years ago, to make several visitsat the house of one of the richest merchants in London, whosesister was afflicted at the time with a cancer ; and though she livedin the same house, 1 was never desired to look at her. Blind cre-dulity prevailed over reason. Her cure was entrusted to an Amer-ican quack, who knew just as much as my lady's lap-dog, of thenature and proper treatment of cancers. He only helped, to killher, which the disease might ultimately have done: yet surely sheought to have lied better advice.

* As hemlock is the principal medicine recommended in this disease, we wouldhave given some directions for the gathering and preparing of that plant : but as itsdifferent preparations are now kept in the shops, we think it much safer for people toget them there, with proper directions for using them.

t In a work lately published on cancer by a Mr. Carmichael, a number of cases areadduced in favour of the utility of iron as a remedy in this disease. The preparationof this metal, to which he gives the preference, is the carbonate, that is, the precipi-tate formed by saturating a solution of the salt of steel (ferrum vitriolatum) with thetixed alkali. Its properties are nearly the same as those of the rust of iron, whenproperly prepared. Of this the patient may take to the extent of a drachm per day,formed into pills, with the addition of any aromatic, to make it sit more easily on thestomach. The same preparation, finely levigated, may also be advantageously sprin-kled on the surface of the sore ; or a wash, made by diluting the muriated tincture ofsteel with water, may be used. This answers well also as an injection, when theuterus is the seat of the complaint. On the authority of this gentleman, whosepractice appears to be founded on experience, and is detailed with candour, in so de-plorable a disease, the remedy proposed by him certainly merits a trial. A. P. R

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