The number of people around the world affected by cancer in one way or another is incalculable. 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives. Therefore, it would be wise for museums to take up this issue. However, there were few such exhibitions, and the time intervals between them are huge.

Today and until January 23 next year, the Science Museum in London hosts the exhibition “The Anti-Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation and Hope”. This is the first major attempt to present the history of the disease and its treatment. The exhibition presents medical instruments of the first surgical interventions that were performed without anesthesia, and the exhibits demonstrate how artificial intelligence and virtual reality contribute to the early diagnosis and effective treatment of diseases.

Museum Medical Curator Cathy Dubin notes that there is a big risk that the exhibition will be something “cold and sterile that will not attract families to a Sunday walk.” To avoid this, he made sure to include objects in the exhibition that could stimulate interest and at the same time allow visitors to speak freely about their hopes and fears about cancer. Dubin, in her hour-long phone interview, talked about the strangest exhibits, such as the tumor found on the tree, as well as the most advanced devices, such as those used to modify genes. He also emphasizes that the misconception that cancer is an exclusively human, modern disease breeds guilt in diagnosed patients. The truth is that cancer is a disease that affects all multicellular organisms and is caused by errors in the process of cell division. There is a dinosaur that lived 75 million years ago and suffered from cancer, and cancerous tumors are also found in plants. However, due to their tougher cell walls, the disease spreads differently than in humans and animals.

Doctors have always known about the existence of cancer. Apparently in ancient times they did not have any possibility of intervention. The development of anatomical knowledge and the improvement of medical technology have changed the situation. Even today, surgical removal of the cancer is a suitable initial approach. The exhibition features a replica of Robert Penman’s face. At the age of 16, he noticed a tumor on his jaw that was constantly growing. In 1828, when Penman was 24 years old, the Scottish surgeon James Syme performed an operation to remove it. This was many years before the widespread use of anesthetics and the patient’s pain had to be unbearable. But he remained motionless in his chair throughout the operation, which lasted 24 minutes. He made a full recovery.

x-ray

Artificial intelligence and virtual reality today contribute to the early diagnosis and effective treatment of the disease.

After 1895 and the discovery of X-rays, the fight against cancer acquired a new weapon: radiation. Doctors first discovered that X-rays damage healthy skin. So they speculated that they could do the same thing in cancer cells. Currently, the most common radiation therapy devices are linear particle accelerators. They were developed in the 1950s and are actually nothing more than large x-ray machines.

Chemotherapy

Another revolutionary development is chemotherapy. Their roots are impressive. During World War I, doctors discovered that soldiers exposed to mustard gas had very low white blood cell counts. So they reasoned that if the poisonous gas killed them, it might help treat blood cancers, in which white blood cells multiply uncontrollably. Two American physicians, Louis Goodman and Alfred Chilman, experimented with the administration of nitrous oxide to treat advanced lymphoma. This was the start of chemotherapy. In the 1950s and 1960s, the side effects of chemotherapeutic agents were such that the scientific community doubted they could be cured. Today, many chemotherapy treatments have side effects, but at the same time, many drugs have been discovered to combat them.

There are interesting aspects to the field of cancer research, but nothing is more important than early diagnosis that saves lives. One of the most interesting methods is the early diagnosis of esophageal cancer, which is extremely difficult because it is often confused with gastroesophageal reflux. Cytosponge is taken as a tablet and as it dissolves it becomes a small sponge that traps cells on its way down the esophagus. They are examined in the laboratory with innovative methods, and the diagnosis is made immediately.

Cytotherapy

Finally, an extremely interesting new area of ​​anticancer therapy is personalized cell therapy. The patient’s white blood cells are removed using a special device and delivered to the laboratory, where they are genetically modified and receptors are added to them, allowing them to detect and destroy cancer cells. The treatment is not effective for everyone and is Calvary for those who go through it. It is also very expensive, long and extremely difficult. But what experts are trying to do is find ways to kill cancer cells without using drugs. It is much better to accustom our body to “mocking ourselves.”