Field of X-Ray in Treatment Constantly Being Enlarged
and Portland Has -Successful Practitioners
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BT DeWITT HARRY.
JUST last month Dr. Royal S. Cope
land of New York made rather
an Interesting commentary on
the tendency on the part of doctors
of this day and aero to "hide their
light tinder a basket. Many prac
titioners grant that some of his
statements have a certain applica
tion, -while denying their general
aptitude. Dr. Copeland was com
menting on the visit of Dr. Adolph
Lorenz, the Austrian specialist, and
said that there "were a score of sur
geons In New York fully as skilled"
as the foreigner, but that the story
of their achievements had not been
given to the public.
Dr. Copeland argued that there
hould be more publicity given to
medical science, that more stories of
the doctor's achievements should be
published. However criticism of the
high ethical standards of this pro
fession fails to make any favorable
Impression either with the public or
the doctor themselves. Many doc
tors grant the Justification of the
New York expert in his stand that
not enough publicity is given to much
medical research and achievement,
but they argue on the other hand
that It is unjustifiable to adopt tac
tics of the propagandist In spreading
stories of marvelous cures, many of
them illusive to a great extent, and
thus arousing the hopes of the ill and
suffering. We must grant that there
Is a great deal of truth in this, for
It is difficult to imagine anything
more cruel than the arousing of the
expectation for health only to find
that It is Impossible. The condition
of th sufferer is rendered all the
more deplorable in this case, for he or
ehe must feel hopeless when a cure
regarded & certain fails to material
ize. Many Hopes Are Daubed.
This Introduction was thought nec
essary for fear that some readers of
the following account of some of the
seemingly marvelous cures being ef
fected by "X" and electric rays in
Portland might take undue encour
agement thereby. This is one phase
of activities that the League for the
Conservation of Public Health will
not permit under Its sanction, and
this article, and the one that pre
ceded last Sunday, were prepared
with the approval of the league. So
far as possible merely the bare facts
of what Is being done will be told,
and readers are warned not to place
thereon their own interpretation, but
to read Just what is said so as not
to arouse any false hopes.
The X-ray as used In treatment is
accomplishing some astounding re
sults, but Just what Us limitations
are or where the use will eventually
lead, no one ventures to prophesy.
The field is too vast and vague at
Just this time to be clearly defined.
Some of Its results are well enough
known and controlled as to be of in
valuable assistance to the physician
but unwarranted ventures into realms
that are not fully explored are not
encouraged. Some results have seem
ingly been accidental and should not
be accepted as a stated rule,, one to
be expected in every case, or even in
cases nearly similar. The difficulty
is that even the experts, while they
can see what they are doing, cannot
bind themselves to produce the same
reaction or result in every case. They
know that something is happening,
know very nearly Just what it is, are
learning more every day. but as yet
cannot venture to actually define
their, capabilities or limitations.
Use In Treatment Gaining.
One fact has been firmly estab
lished, that the X-ray is death to
certain parasitic cellular growths.
Twenty years ago the X-ray possibly
enjoyed nearly as high a reputation
in diagnosis as today, and the newer
development has been nearly all
along the line of treatment, opening
tap new and unexplored fields. Skep
tics are gradually being converted 9
the virtues of the X-ray in treatment
in view of recent results. During the
decade or more that the X-ray has
been in use it has enjoyed a varied
career, its reputation fluctuating as
the faith of the profession and the
laymen varied. Of late experiments
being done with the Coolidge tube
show it possible to dispatch rays gen
erated by an electric current of from
200,D00 to 300,000 volts. It is evident
that this tremendous force has some
effect on tissues, especially when the
ray's enmity to the parasitic cells is
realized.
However, it is too early to say just
what development will come from the
use of this terrific force. Optimists
venture on marvelous predictions, but
the experimental work is just now
being done. It would be cruel to
raise many hopes only to have them
dashed. The facts are that much of
the experimental work is being con
fined to cancer cases, in which it is
impossible to operate. Startling re
sults have been obtained in some of
these cases, in others the patients
have not fared so well. In any event
the X-ray is not expected to take the
place of the surgeon in the treatment
of cancer.
Ray Destroys Parasitic Cells.
In Portland the X-ray is being used
with good success in the alleviation
of pain and some very rare and as
tounding results have been obtained,
though not sufficient to be made the
basis for any definite conclusions. In
many skin-disease cases the X-ray
has proved to be not only a palliative
but has effected cures to all indica
tions permanent in their nature. Not
only is the ray being used as a post
operative prophylaotic treatment
after the removal of cancer, but
sometimes is used before the oper
ation. In this manner it has proved
beneficial in blocking off zones for
treatment and in killing stray cells.
The rays are also being used in con
junction with radium in cancerous
and other , conditions. In this work
some fine success has been had In
relieving pain and reducing masses.
In some of the eastern experiments
(and here the reader is warned not
to take too much for granted, for the
cases are far from proved) the infor
mation is to the effect that some
large growths of the stomach and
breast have been either cured or held
under control with no apparent re
currence for nine months. When it is
stated that cancer is not held eradi
cated until five years has elapsed
without any signs of recurrence, the
reason for non-complete backing of
the X-ray as a sure cure is apparent.
In the treatment of some cases of in
fected and diseased tonsils the X-ray
has proved valuable, producing fi
brous tissue that does not permit any
infection to be harbored.
The new apparatus for the X-ray
at high voltage for treatment is
greatly similar to the ordinary Cool
idge tube, with the exception that it
is 30 inches in length with the termi
nals farther apart. By the use of
this machine the approximate wave
length of the gamma rays, the rays
that sicken the enemy cell and get in
the destructive action, is fully under
control. Thus it is possible for the
cells taking the cure to absorb an
enormous amount of ray and at the
same time to keep the rays from
breaking down the healthy cells near
by. New foreign growths have their
strength sapped and lose their power.
In giving the X-ray treatments under
the latest conditions the laboratories
filter the rays through copper sheets
of varying thickness or through alu
minum so as to take away any dan
ger of burns and at the same time
to make them as fully efficient as
possible. During the time the human
body is being submitted to the action
of the rays the flesh of the portions
not under treatment Is either pro
tected .by lead sheets or by treated
fabrics that absorb the rays and pre
vent burns.
Th lesson of this i that beore the
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND. FEBRUARY 19, 1923
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recent tests were verified under the
old system short wave lengths were
administered, unchanged by meta
filters. Under present conditions it
is extremely rare, with the use of ex
ceedingly high voltages, to get any
skin reaction. The conditions are
nearly the same as in the use of ra
dium. The radium used in the labo
ratories is put up in plaques wherein
it is distributed through a porcelain
like substance, In needles of steel in
the shaft of which the powder is con
tained, or it is used in tubes con
taining varying amounts. It is either
applied to the surface to be treated
or buried in the tumor mass. In the
latter case the needles or tubes are
used.
The general treatment rules for the
THE LAST
(Continued From Page 2.)
the Turks plunged by me and took
to the stairs. The sailors sat On two
or three and hit another with a chair.
But Rlfat Hasan and Mustafa All
didn't move. They were the ones
who were facing what I held) in my
right hand. They didn't even bat an
eye."
The sergeant grinned over his tri
umph. "Then I looked behind them
and I hate to tell you what I saw.
There was the girl I have told you
we called Bussia Anna, nude. Her
yellow hair had fallen over her shoul
ders. She was standing tied on a
scale such as you'd weigh flour or
barrels on. My eyes fairly bulged in
my head. I heard two of the sailor
lads at my side gasp.
" 'That's the girl,' the tallest 1 of
them said. The others called him
Jack. For the love of . WeUi
he swore in a fine way, I can tell you,
for all his being so young. He went
to the corner of the room and picked
up some clothes lying there in a heap
and draped them on the girl. Then
untied her hands. She was crying, of
course, by now, and she almost fell
to the floor when the cords that held
her up fell loose.
"I looked at Bifat Hasan and Mus
tafa Ali. I can't tell you, miss, what
went roaring through my head, but it
was a terrible feeling. I was like a
bull elephant when he gets wild. I've
seen them in India, at the canton
ments, and they would tear up trees
as big around as your hat and throw
them here and there like tentpegs
when a rage moved them. I felt like
they do when they start on the trees.
I looked at those Turks and I could
have killed them.
"I ordered the lrl sent oat fit the
X-ray are simple, the foundation be
ing that the rays pick out certain
cells that are more susceptible and
work out their life-deterrent act'on
thereon. It penetrates the tissues,
and, properly administered, does no
harm to the healthy cells. In this
manner the X-ray has nearly the
same action as radium, therefore the
frequent concurrent use of the two
remedies. In the treatment of skin
diseases or abnormal conditions the
blood supply to the affected area is
greatly increased, the blood vessels
dilated and the nutriment therefore
is greater, and along with this comes
an added resistance to disease. Here
must come in the skill of the prac
titioner, for if too large dosage is ad
ministered the result is an enormous
STRONGHOLD OF SLAVERY - By Mary Symons
room. Some sailor lad took her and
three of them must have stayed be
hind, though I wasn't seeing any
thing at the moment but the faces of
those two Turks. I asked which of
them had started the sale of the girl
on the scales and after a silence the
old man grunted.
A Deserved Beating.
"There didn't seem to be any ques
tion of his lying about what . he
wasn't ashamed of having done. I
sent another sailor out for a British
Tommy to take charge of what I was
going to leave behind me in the room
when I got through and unstrapped
my bait
"The old man took off his shirt. It
was my idea. 'T dare say," the ser
geant said slowly, "that after that I
forgot myself for a moment, miss.
For several moments, maybe. I re
member one of the little sailor chaps
trying to catch my arm as it went up
and down, and hearing him beg me
to quit, that the old man was groan
ing so pitiful. Then I remember the
sailors pulling me off and hearing
Bifat Hasan crying in his corner. He
was white as dust, that Turk. I dare
say he feared for his hide.
"For a minute I didn't know any
thing. The girl, they told me, had
gone with Bob, the. sailor who first
departed. In a moment Tompkins,
the British soldier man I had sent
another sailor out to fetch, would be
here to take charge of the two or
three lumps, of men lying on the
floor where the sailors had knocked
them. These men suddenly began
coming to, and the room was filled
with a fine noise. They were groan
ing like stuck pigs.
"Then X bent Jo look, at my xaajir.
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dilatiojr of the blood vessels, the skin
becomes red and may become in
flamed and if carried too far the re
sult may be the creation of ulcers,
the healthy tissues being destroyed
and burned.
However, there is no ground for
alarm, for the experts who have dedi
cated their lives to X-ray work, and
there are several of them in Portland,
know just what is the proper dosage
and one man, in over ten years' con
stant experience, has yet to have his
first case of burning.
In certain chronic low-grade skin
infections, an increase of the blood
supply and the ensuing stimulation
of the glands enables the human body
itself to combat and throw off the
infection by the super-natural proc
ess. In acne and eczema or chronic
itchy skin the X-ray gives the epi
dermis and its co-operating glands
and cell3 a kick or boost by increas
Miitafa Ali. 'You've killed him," Jack
whispered. 'Sergeant, you've killed
him, as sure as I'm alive.' I jerked
the old Turk on his back and listened
to his heart
" Not quite,' " I says. " "Let me
think.' 'You see, killing people, even
Turks, is hardly permitted by head
quarters, miss.' And my having
belted him so hard and I dare say I
hit him a bit with my fists, was
rather In the line of an unofficial
duty. Though my heart told me I'd
done the right thing. 'Stay here 'til
Tompkins comes,' I told one of the
two lads. 'And guard those five birds
here. And you, Jack, come with me.
Grab his dirty feet, there.'
Hide Injured Man.
"We struck Mustafa in a passing
cab and I gave an address I knew
well. It was that of a little shanty
by the Bosphorus water-front with a
bare upper room where I could put
my friend to recovery. I had cleaned
the house of sneak thieves the week
before and knew it was unoccupied
stilL Jack came with me and helped
me put Mustapha on a cot in the top
of the house I mention. We stood at
his head by the window and stared
out The black wafers of the Bos
phorus ran directly below, the cur
rent sucking and pulling bits of wood
and rotting fruit that floated here
s.nd there. It gives me the creeps,
that water does,' Jack said and shud
dered. "When I think of all the bodies
that have been tossed into it at night
in the past.'
" 'And some of those that may get
tossed Into it In the future," I said,
laughing grimly. For, miss, I wasn't
worrying about what to do with, old
ing the action and blood flow way
above normal that often completes
the cure permanently. As a control
method for skin affections from ob
scure causes, measured doses of
X-rays are efficient In abnormal
conditions the vital glands are stimu
lated and hyper-actlvity is the result
causing a resumption of their proper
functioning and restoration to nor
mal conditions.
Sprfsee Cancers Cnred.
Many surface or skin cancers can
be cured in their incipient stages by
this means.' It merely creates natural
normal physical changes by hyper
activity of the epidermis. The X-ray
in those cases where cures have been
effected slowed up the dangerous ac
tion and enabled a return to healthy
normality. Parasitic cells were de
stroyed and rapidly degenerated, be
ing replaced by healthy tissue. The
Mustapha Ali at all. Though he
wasn't good enough to die.
"I staid with my patient that night
Jack, of course, went back to the
ship. The night was long and at
first the old man groaned a lot But
about dawn he became quieter. It
made me a little nervous like. I
knelt by the bed and listened. His
wicked old heart was pumping as
feeble as a frog's. Then I got up and
opened the window. Below me was
the Bosphorus, gray and quiet in the
dawn. No boat was passing. No
little tug was in sight. No one lived
in the part of the house below me,
I well knew. What Turks had seen
me go in with the old man I would
tell to mind their own business and
that we had taken him away at night
when they were all asleep, if they
started asking questions. I walked
to the bed and considered. "A bad
Turk more or less,' I said to myself,
'don't count in this world, after all.'
"Then he groaned again and shiv
ered. I- propped the window open
and made ready to chuck him out.
A dead Turk is as well buried one
place as another, is what I thought
about the matter in hand.
Turk Recovers.
"About three hours later , Jack
came in. He was white and scared
looking, but plucky as ever. He tip
toed in and lopked out at the river.
This is a terrible tough town,' he
said and shivered. 'Say, me for little
old Rhode Island." "You have a
state like that, haven't you?" the ser
geant asked. " T could hardly sleep
in my hammock last night. In my
dreams I saw the girl's hair, and the
dark stair and the Turks' faces when
we jammed the door In," and her
standing there and you with that
entire success or failure however de
pends on an absolute .understanding
of the nature of the disease and the
proper selection of the quality of the
rays to be used.
In analyzing the results of the
X-ray, that is those that are proved,
it can easily be seen that it has a
vast field of action. As yet the
remedial angle of electricity, ap
plied by this means, may be said to
be in its infancy, but the vista is al
luring to those who have the de
velopment of the science of medicine
at heart. They are putting forward
every effort to make the full develop
ment of the X-ray possible, but find
they must move with caution in the
unexplored fields they are entering.
In the diagnostic side of surgery and
medicine the X-ray is already firmly
established and regarded as invalu
able. Its progress into new realms
is steady and interesting.
belt raised In your hand.' Ho shiv
ered again. This is a rough town,
believe me."
T asked him about Russian Anna.
Had she found her Alexis, her aunt
and her pearls? It seems she had
found them all in front of The Bear
where the sailor lad had taken her.
Her aunt and her husband had been
there since the night before, having
been told that she had centered her
Inquiries for them at that restaurant
She had fainted on meeting them, and
at 2 o'clock on the sidewalk of Pera
street! The busiest hour and the
busiest boulevard in all Constanti
nople. Quite a scene, I dare say.
"Then Jack, when he was through
with his informing me of the events
I had missed, turned to look at the
bed. 'He looks awfully sick, yet,' he
whispered. 'Do you think he'll pull
through all right? Do you think hell
really get well?'
" 'At about dawn, 1 don't mind say
ing I thought he was going to go
west. But now,' and I reached for
my cap and tunic where I had hung
them on the door the night before, 'I
regret to inform you that I think
your suspicions are well-founded. I
fear the old beggar will get well.'
"And arm in arm, we strolled out
into the bright morning sunlight of
wicked old Constantinople.''
Irish Karnes Only Wanted.
DUBLIN. English names of numer
ous streets and bridges here will be
changed to Irish ones in the near
future if a proposition which is be
fore the Dublin corporation is car
ried. The Dall Elreann has asked
members of Sinn Fein cluba to emols
only; Irish cigarettes.
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