San Francisco cancer survey : third preliminary report (fifth and sixth quarterly reports) / by Frederick L. Hoffman.

Hoffman, Frederick L. (Frederick Ludwig), 1865-1946.

Date:: [between 1920 and 1933]

Credit: San Francisco cancer survey : third preliminary report (fifth and sixth quarterly reports) / by Frederick L. Hoffman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$Aside Iroiii iIk' lore^oiiiji;. and partly as the rosidl of niy caaccM' lectures ill (-aiiada, I liavc lic'cn riirnislied with cancer records lor the entire I’roviiiee o( llritish (iolumliia. throiijih the kindness of !)r. TI. E. Yoiinji, l*ro\ inrial Health Ollieer. I hese statistics are now heing lahniated for me hy a >!:roii|) ol students at lloslon I niversity, under the direction of Hr. (E. (iarroll. Similar ccrtidcales have hern jiromised hy the cities of Toronto and W innipeg and the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alherla, so that there will he added to the American data in the near future a wealth ol information for almost the whole of western Canada. I may say in this connection that Vancouver and Victoria have the higlu'st cancer death rates. In this respect the Canadian situation conforms luecisely to the situation on the Pacific Coast of the United States. An interesting sidelight of the investigation in western (ianada will he the (acts disclosed for the pojmlation of Icelandic origin as well as for the Oriental element livinjj in the Province of llritish Columhia. Attention will al so he given to native Indians living in all parts of the western section of the Dominion. (.ertain jireliminary results of the cancer survey have been communi¬ cated from time to time to the jiuhlic in lectures, Imt jiarticularlv so in my address before the Philadelphia County Medical Society, November .5, 102.5. My (.anadian cancer lectures have been reprinted under the titles (.ancer in (.anada” and “Cancer Eacts and fallacies.” through the courtesy of The Prudential Insurance Companv. The jiresent jmhlication includes a detailed list of the cancer deaths of San francisco and lloston during the five years ending with 1021, accord¬ ing to streets and house numbers. Tlie tabulation reveals for the first time the extent to which cancer deaths during the period stated have occurred in the same house more than once. This matter is being followed up hy sjiecial investigations, hut only slow jirogress is being made in this ili- rection, as it is not an easy matter to cover so large a city as San Erancisco. and so large a number of houses as are involved, with the re(|uired thor¬ oughness in detail. The jnesent indications are that the results in San l‘rancisco arc' not likely to sup|)ort the theorv of a parasitical origin of c'ancci' or a dislrihiition through infection, or contact from pc'ison to |»erson. flic returns lor Portsmouth, England, are iiududed as a contribution towards a more cominehensive international com])arison. which it is hoped in the course ol time will he possible', il thenu'tliods adopted m the jiresent investigation arc' lollowed c'lsewherc'. 'fhe statistic'al asjiects of the cancer jiroldem are now rc'c c'i\ ing c'xtc'iiclecl considc'ration on the jiart of the (ian- cc'r (.ommittee ol the- Ec'agiic' ol Nations, the' Ministry of llc'alth of Great Ei itain and the' Health l)c'|iartmenls cd Holland and Italy. Unfortunately, I'aiidjic'an death cc'itilicalc's do not contain all the information which is given on the' stemehird dc'eith ei'rtiliceites in use throughout this eaiuntry.$