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About.comThe first known case of cancer was found in Eygpt. In which 8 tumors were found in the breasts of someone. They were removed the tumors with a "fire drill" which destroyed the tissues that contained the tumors.
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wellcomecollection.org
After Harvey's discovery of blood circulation, French physician Jean-Baptiste Denis gives blood from a lamb to a 15-year-old boy suffering from high fevers. Experiments are soon banned as patient deaths mount. -
hist.html
The famous 18th century Scottish surgeon, John Hunter, suggested that some cancers might be cured by surgery if the tumor had not invaded nearby tissue. He stated that if the tumor was “moveable…There is no impropriety in removing it” . However, surgery was still very primitive and patients faced major complications, including blood loss. -
about.com
It wasn't until 1761 that autopsies were performed to research cause of death in ill patients. Giovanni Morgagni of Padua was the first to do such autopsies. -
rare-cancer.org
Percivall Pott of London in 1775 described an occupational cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweeps caused by soot collecting under their scrotum. This led to identification of a number of occupational carcinogenic exposures and public health measures to reduce cancer risk. This was the beginning of understanding that there may be an environmental cause to certain cancers. -
Hist.html
In 1896 a German physics professor, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, delivered a lecture entitled “Concerning a New Kind of Ray,” which caused a revolution within the scientific community. This speech casued a new wave of using x rays to detect early signs of cancer. -
hist.html
Within three years radiation was tentatively being used as a treatment for cancer. A major breakthrough was the revelation that small, daily doses of radiation over several weeks would increase the probability of therapeutic response. Early radiologists sacrificed their own health by testing the strength of radiation from their radiotherapy machines on their own skin. -
hist.html
During World War II, the U.S. Army was studying a compound called nitrogen mustard in an attempt to develop protective measures against mustard gas. To much surprise, it was discovered that nitrogen mustard had substantial activity against a cancer of the lymph nodes, called lymphoma. This compound served as a model for future agents that more effectively killed rapidly killing cancer cells' DNA. -
facts.randomhistory
In 2006, a virus called xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was discovered in prostate cells, leading scientists to believe the virus may play a role in causing aggressive prostate cancer. -
who.int
In 2008, 7.6 million people died of cancer - 13% of all deaths worldwide. -
cnn.com
Scientists at the UK-based Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute catalogued the genetic maps of skin and lung cancer and have pinpointed the specific mutations within DNA that can lead to dangerous tumors.Researchers predict these maps will offer patients a personalized treatment option that ranges from earlier detection to the type of medication. -
advisory.com
First reported in 2011, the University of Pennsylvania-pioneered treatment involves removing millions of T-cells from a leukemia patient and using a disabled form of HIV to program the T-cells to attack B-cells, a normal immune system cell that becomes malignant in leukemia.
