Popular palliative cancer treatments in 18th--mid 19th century.
In the 18th century cancer was an incurable disease and the only therapeutic approach was surgery which was accompanied with several life threatening complications. In the absence of effective cancer treatment, palliative approach was proposed by physicians. Compression, ligation, "cura famis" and treatment by cold were four popular treatments in the 18th century provoking an outbreak of therapeutic illusions in cancer patients and physicians, before being lost in oblivion.
University Institute of History of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, Lyon, France.
George
G
Androutsos
Michalis
M
Koutsilieris
Athanase
A
Protogerou
Konstantinos
K
Laios
Marianna
M
Karamanou
D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000266:history*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000266:history*