The Reaction of the Tissues to Radium in Treatment of Cancer of the Cervix, and the Importance of Lacerations in Producing Cancer in This Location: Dr. Lilian K. P. Farrar, New York City, presented a paper on

Abstract

In the Woman’s Hospital in the State of New York, all ward cases of cancer of the cervix who have been treated with radium return for inspection once each month over a period of five years or longer if they can be persuaded to do so. The reaction in the cervix to radium treatment is so nearly uniform that we believe we know what the appearance of the cervix will be each month if the case is progressing favorably; and that we can tell when the expected effect of radium has not been reached and a subsequent dose is needed. In order that we might fully appreciate the changes taking place in the cervix after irradiation the medical artist has attended the follow-up clinic each week and made a series of sketches in water color of individual cases beginning before the patient has received radium treatment and then sketching the cervix at each successive visit to the clinic. The visits to the clinic are sufficiently far apart to show definite stages in the progress made by radium treatment.