“Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. As of 2012, there were 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths worldwide” (Cancer Statistics, National Cancer Institute). Cancer was a very widespread disease during World War I due to the use of mustard gas. Mustard gas was a common war weapon, for it was very cruel and had a high fatality rate; this gas is extremely poisonous and caused a cancer epidemic due to the way it attacked the respiratory system. Exposure to this gas was fatal since it attacked its victim’s organs and caused irregular cell growth with later lead to cancer. During World War I, there were no treatments for cancer, resulting in the death of many. Scientists saw the issue and stopped at nothing
…show more content…
Depending on the strength of the gas, it could start by attacking several different parts of the body until it was treated or it killed its victim. The gas was rarely something someone lived through if they had direct exposure to it, but the few times where victims were able to survive resulted in many horrifying effects. To write that the “severe mustard gas agent burns are fatal, and those who recover face chronic breathing problems and a higher risk of cancer” is an accurate example of the tragic side effects the victims had to face (The Tragic Aftermath of Mustard Gas Experiments in World War I, Marissa Fessenden). Mustard gas victims didn’t always face immediate death, and many were treated but could only recover partly. If they survived the burns, they still faced a life of breathing issues due to exact exposure. Along with the breathing issues, the victims had a very high chance of acquiring cancer. Exposure to Mustard gas was always tragic but depending on the distance, time, etc, the side effects differed significantly. As the Center for Disease Control and Prevention writes, “Exposure to sulfur mustard may increase a person's risk for lung and respiratory cancers, extensive eye exposure can cause permanent blindness, and sulfur musar can cause second- and third- degree burns an later scarring” (Facts about Sulfur Mustard, Center for Disease and Prevention). Mustard gas was more than likely fatal but when those …show more content…
Goodman and Alfred A. Gilman wanted to find a way to prevent and control the major cancer epidemic so they formed a drug called chemotherapy. Scientist, Louis S. Goodman, earned his pharmaceutical degree at Yale University alongside Dr. Alfred A. Gilman. Although many scientist worked long and hard to form an effective cancer drug, these two scientists were the first ones to construct an accurate drug called chemotherapy. After years of unanswered questions and no cure, “[...] two prominent Yale pharmacologists, Alfred Gilman and Louis Goodman examined the therapeutic effects of mustard agents in treating lymphoma” (Mandal, Dr Ananya. History of Chemotherapy). Unfortunately this idea was unable to be published until long after the war due to certain warfare laws, but when the idea launched, an uproar followed. All though far too many lives were taken by cancer, many more could now be saved. The two pharmiologists were best known for their collaboration on a text book published on their finding on the chemotherapy drug, in which the textbook explains how, “Modern chemotherapy is predicated on this idea, radical in its time” (Goodman & Gilman's the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics). The two doctors formed an educated idea that the sulfur was causing an irregular blood cell, and concluded that a very similar chemical, nitrogen, could in fact reverse the damage. This book was even often referred to as the bible of pharmacology due to
Depending on the strength of the gas, it could start by attacking several different parts of the body until it was treated or it killed its victim. The gas was rarely something someone lived through if they had direct exposure to it, but the few times where victims were able to survive resulted in many horrifying effects. To write that the “severe mustard gas agent burns are fatal, and those who recover face chronic breathing problems and a higher risk of cancer” is an accurate example of the tragic side effects the victims had to face (The Tragic Aftermath of Mustard Gas Experiments in World War I, Marissa Fessenden). Mustard gas victims didn’t always face immediate death, and many were treated but could only recover partly. If they survived the burns, they still faced a life of breathing issues due to exact exposure. Along with the breathing issues, the victims had a very high chance of acquiring cancer. Exposure to Mustard gas was always tragic but depending on the distance, time, etc, the side effects differed significantly. As the Center for Disease Control and Prevention writes, “Exposure to sulfur mustard may increase a person's risk for lung and respiratory cancers, extensive eye exposure can cause permanent blindness, and sulfur musar can cause second- and third- degree burns an later scarring” (Facts about Sulfur Mustard, Center for Disease and Prevention). Mustard gas was more than likely fatal but when those …show more content…
Goodman and Alfred A. Gilman wanted to find a way to prevent and control the major cancer epidemic so they formed a drug called chemotherapy. Scientist, Louis S. Goodman, earned his pharmaceutical degree at Yale University alongside Dr. Alfred A. Gilman. Although many scientist worked long and hard to form an effective cancer drug, these two scientists were the first ones to construct an accurate drug called chemotherapy. After years of unanswered questions and no cure, “[...] two prominent Yale pharmacologists, Alfred Gilman and Louis Goodman examined the therapeutic effects of mustard agents in treating lymphoma” (Mandal, Dr Ananya. History of Chemotherapy). Unfortunately this idea was unable to be published until long after the war due to certain warfare laws, but when the idea launched, an uproar followed. All though far too many lives were taken by cancer, many more could now be saved. The two pharmiologists were best known for their collaboration on a text book published on their finding on the chemotherapy drug, in which the textbook explains how, “Modern chemotherapy is predicated on this idea, radical in its time” (Goodman & Gilman's the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics). The two doctors formed an educated idea that the sulfur was causing an irregular blood cell, and concluded that a very similar chemical, nitrogen, could in fact reverse the damage. This book was even often referred to as the bible of pharmacology due to