Cancer by The National Library of Medicine

Le Cancer (l'Office national du film du Canada, 1950)

This film is excerpted from the full-length Challenge: Science Against Cancer. Portions are presented in French and portions in English. A patient, Mr. Davis, enters the medical office. He is shown to have a treatable cancerous lesion on his face. Several doctors discuss the case and the recommended treatment. The film shows cells and cell division, laboratories, the use of microscopes, and experiments with mice. The treatment for Mr. Davis begins immediately and uses radium.

Alerte: Science Contre Cancer ( l'Office national canadien du film, 1950)

This is the film Challenge: Science Against Cancer accompanied by a French soundtrack. It illustrates the importance of continued research in laboratories around the world in order to solve the problem of cancer, and aims to explain the current difficulties in identifying causes and cures. It begins with an overview of the birth of man from one cell and explores the complexity of the human body. It shows the isolation and testing of cancer cells and explains the effects of heredity and environment on normal cells.

Challenge: Science Against Cancer (Canada Dept. of Health & Welfare, US Nat'l Cancer Inst., 1950)

This film attempts to explain why researchers are having a difficult time discovering the causes and cures for cancer. It begins with an overview of the birth of man from one cell and generally explores the complexity of the human body. It shows the isolation and testing of cancer cells and explains the effects of heredity and environment on normal cells. It explains the difficulties of tracing several generations for heredity research and the multitude of chemicals, etc. which affect cells and turn them cancerous.

The Reward of Courage [Silent] (American Society for the Control of Cancer, 1921 (sdtrk 2011)

A Rediscovered Cancer Film of the Silent Era This version has been modified with the addition of a sound track, titles, and credits. In 1921 the American Society for the Control of Cancer released The Reward of Courage. The film, a silent melodrama, was designed to persuade viewers to visit a physician for regular checkups and at the first sign of the disease.

Individualization of Primary Surgical Therapy for Breast Cancer (USPHS, 1969)

Jerome A. Urban, M.D. lectures, using diagrams, graphs, and photographs. Three surgical approaches to breast neoplasms are discussed: modified radical mastectomy, radical mastectomy, and extensive radical mastectomy. Modified radical is indicated when: tumor is in situ and confined to the breast, tumor is low-grade, non-aggressive. Photographs shown of Paget's disease, nipple lesions, eczema of nipple with crusting. Radiation therapy should follow surgery. Modified radicallooks better and allows better function than the radical or extensive radical.

The Search for Cancer Viruses (NET Science and USPHS, 1966)

This Net Science film begins by introducing a child named Sandra with leukemia and following her as she gets routine blood work done. The narrator then explains that scientists are seeking to prove that a virus is the cause of cancer in humans. Doctors Grace and Stuart are called upon to help explain the present knowledge. The narrator explains that cancer is a disease of the cells, and then gives a brief description of cells, and shows through time-lapse photography how normal cells and cancerous cells reproduce differently under a microscope.

Radiation Therapy in the Management of Cancer (American Cancer Society, 1970)

The purpose of this program is to demonstrate the use of radiation therapy in the management of cancer. The program begins with a discussion of the factors which can be used to determine the appropriate treatment for cancer. Next, the film discusses the use of the isodose chart in planning therapy. The program includes in this discussion dose distribution and the indication of radiation therapy in specific types of cancers. The program also provides two case studies to illustrate the use of radiation therapy in the management of cancer.

The Traitor Within (American Cancer Society, 1946)

In this cartoon film directed to the non-medical public, cancer statistics are given, cancer myths are refuted, cancer warning signals are presented, and the growth and effect of cancer cells within the body are shown. Cartoons illustrate: normal cell function in the body; the appearance and growth of neoplastic cells and their destruction of normal cells; cure of cancer by surgery, radiation therapy, radium implants; spread of untreated cancer through the lymphatic system to the circulatory system; and the danger signals that indicate that cancer is present.

Lung Cancer: Early Diagnosis and Management (American Cancer Society, 1969)

This program discusses the preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures indicated for lung cancer. The program notes that pre-cancerous lesions from smoking may be reversible and that periodic chest x-rays should be used as the primary diagnostic tool. Such pathologic conditions as the thickening of the bronchial epithelium basal cells with atypical nuclei are described through microscopic views. Radiographs and drawings of several clinical cases illustrate the inoperability of lesions due to their location.

Childhood Cancer: Current Outlook (USPHS; American Radium Society, 1969)

This film was created as a professional educational extension of the American Radium Society on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The film stresses the need for multiple disciplines to work together to treat childhood cancer. The three disciplines represented on this panel discussion were: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Three childhood cancer cases were discussed: a 9-month old with a tumor on the right kidney, a 7-month old with a tumor in the left groin, and a 10-year-old boy with a tumor on the arm.