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Leukemia Biography
Leukemia, a malignant cancer of the blood, was named in 1847 by Dr. Rudolf Virchow, a German politician whose wide-ranging interests led him to significant discoveries in cell biology, pathology and anthropology. Although Dr. Virchow’s name appeared often in The New York Times, mostly in the late 19th century, his discovery of leukemia was not mentioned until Feb. 22, 1970, in an article by Dr. Lawrence K. Altman.
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Of course, that was not the first time the disease was mentioned in the paper. That happened on Dec. 6, 1899, when Maj. Samuel T. Armstrong, surgeon of the 32nd Infantry, died in Manila. “The cause of death,” the brief obituary said, “is given as leukemia.”
By 1913, several types of leukemia were known, although none were treatable. On Dec. 2 of that year, The Times mentioned the illness in a report on the death of a Cornell student “suffering from a grave blood disease described by the hospital authorities as acute lymphatic leukemia.” This was also the first mention of an attempt to treat the disease — with a blood transfusion from the patient’s twin brother.
The next failed treatment noted in the paper was radium. On May 3, 1915, The Times reported that radium “has also been found effective in leukemia,” but then acknowledged that “patients might even succumb to the poisons released into the system.” Still, this was the first mention of a treatment, radiation therapy, that today remains one of the treatments for the illness.
The disease began to get significant public recognition only in the late 1920s. On March 5, 1927, The Times reported that a “Dutch gentleman” had offered an award of 25,000 guilders “for the most satisfactory treatise on the treatment of leukemia.” On April 3, 1934, in an article about a dying 4-year-old girl, a reporter described the disease as “an overabundance of white corpuscles in the blood,” adding that “its cure is infrequent.”
Throughout the 1930s, leukemia was frequently mentioned as a cause of illness and almost inevitable death, often in connection with heroic blood donations and transfusions in ultimately futile attempts to cure it. The disease, discovered almost a century before, had now become part of the public discourse.
The first suggestion to readers of The Times that a chemical approach might work was on April 13, 1946, when an anonymous reporter noted that because some of the chemicals tested and rejected for malaria treatment “destroy white blood cells, they may yet have their uses in leukemia.”
Today, more than 100 years after the first mention of the disease in The Times, treatment is complex, involving the skills of many specialists — hematologists, medical and radiation oncologists, pediatric leukemia specialists, nurses and dietitians. The many types of leukemia can be successfully treated, and sometimes cured, with chemotherapy, stem cell transplants and biological therapies that enhance the body’s immune system.
Leukemia Biography
Leukemia, a malignant cancer of the blood, was named in 1847 by Dr. Rudolf Virchow, a German politician whose wide-ranging interests led him to significant discoveries in cell biology, pathology and anthropology. Although Dr. Virchow’s name appeared often in The New York Times, mostly in the late 19th century, his discovery of leukemia was not mentioned until Feb. 22, 1970, in an article by Dr. Lawrence K. Altman.
Enlarge This Image
Of course, that was not the first time the disease was mentioned in the paper. That happened on Dec. 6, 1899, when Maj. Samuel T. Armstrong, surgeon of the 32nd Infantry, died in Manila. “The cause of death,” the brief obituary said, “is given as leukemia.”
By 1913, several types of leukemia were known, although none were treatable. On Dec. 2 of that year, The Times mentioned the illness in a report on the death of a Cornell student “suffering from a grave blood disease described by the hospital authorities as acute lymphatic leukemia.” This was also the first mention of an attempt to treat the disease — with a blood transfusion from the patient’s twin brother.
The next failed treatment noted in the paper was radium. On May 3, 1915, The Times reported that radium “has also been found effective in leukemia,” but then acknowledged that “patients might even succumb to the poisons released into the system.” Still, this was the first mention of a treatment, radiation therapy, that today remains one of the treatments for the illness.
The disease began to get significant public recognition only in the late 1920s. On March 5, 1927, The Times reported that a “Dutch gentleman” had offered an award of 25,000 guilders “for the most satisfactory treatise on the treatment of leukemia.” On April 3, 1934, in an article about a dying 4-year-old girl, a reporter described the disease as “an overabundance of white corpuscles in the blood,” adding that “its cure is infrequent.”
Throughout the 1930s, leukemia was frequently mentioned as a cause of illness and almost inevitable death, often in connection with heroic blood donations and transfusions in ultimately futile attempts to cure it. The disease, discovered almost a century before, had now become part of the public discourse.
The first suggestion to readers of The Times that a chemical approach might work was on April 13, 1946, when an anonymous reporter noted that because some of the chemicals tested and rejected for malaria treatment “destroy white blood cells, they may yet have their uses in leukemia.”
Today, more than 100 years after the first mention of the disease in The Times, treatment is complex, involving the skills of many specialists — hematologists, medical and radiation oncologists, pediatric leukemia specialists, nurses and dietitians. The many types of leukemia can be successfully treated, and sometimes cured, with chemotherapy, stem cell transplants and biological therapies that enhance the body’s immune system.
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