Observations on the treatment of scirrhous tumours, and cancers of the breast / by James Nooth.

  • Nooth, James.
Date:
1804
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the treatment of scirrhous tumours, and cancers of the breast / by James Nooth. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    29/126 (page 13)
    I t 13 ] Not choofing to rely on a fingle experiment, as a fuffi- cient proof that a cancerous difpofition could not be conveyed into the habit, I repeatedly inoculated myfelf from the year 1777, without ever producing any effects diffimilar to thofe in the firfl experiment. And I am convinced, that thofe perfons who give their attendance to cancerous fubje&s, are not fo liable to get this cruel difeafe by abforption, as has been too generally fuppofed; although it may be alleged, that idiofyncrafy might prevent its furious effe&s on me. Of late years many perfons have pretended to cure fcirrhous tumours, and even cancers in an ulcerated (late, by plafters only; and different cauflic compo- fitions, like many other medical fecrets, have bec-11 held in high ellimation, particularly the one employed by the late Mr. Guy,* which evidently contains fome portion of arfenic : but were the cafes it has been employed in candidly examined, I am perfuaded it would be clearly found to have done much mifehief without ever producing any advantages, which might not more certainly, and with more eafe, have been * Guy’s recipe is as follows:—Take of crow’s-foot one handful, dog-fennel three fprigs, pound them well together, and add a table fpoonful of crude brimftone, and as much white arfenic in fine powder; make thefe into balls, and dry them in the lun. The balls mull be powdered and mixed with the yolk of an egg, then laid over the tumour or cancer on a piece of bladder, which mull be adapted to the part, and fmeared over with the yolk of an egg. This plafter mufl not be removed till it drop off, which it will do in eight or ten days.