Radium and Cancer. A Monograph

a subject entirely beyond his comprehension and one that he must leave to the specialist. We are not suggesting that every practitioner should have a gramme or two of radium at his disposal to exper1' ment with, but he must understand something of the principles of its action and of its possibilities in the treatment of cancer, otherwise he will not be in. a position to advise his patients when the occasion arises. Even the surgeon is seldom equipped with the fundamental knowledge of atomic physics that ^ necessary if he is to use radium intelligently, an" not simplj' to apply it by rule of thumb. It is very hard to acquire this knowledge in the ordinary course of events. It is not simply a matter of going back and rubbing up one's physics, as recent advances in our knowledge of atomic physics have brought about so complete a change during the last few years that the majority of us will have to coiQ" mence to learn the subject de novo, and few caD afford the time to grapple with the books on the subject written by physicists.