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WE first visited the Clinic of Professor GGsta Forssell and his colleagues at the Radium Institute. This is a hospital of thirty-two beds with a very complete out-patient department and facilities for treating patients with radium and X rays. It was founded by the Cancer Society of Sweden in 1917, and is now recognized by the Government, which pays the travelling expenses of the patients, who thus have no excuse for not coming as often as is necessary, not only for treatment, but also that their after-progress may be watched. There were 832 in-patients during the last year, and 1533 treatments with radium were carried o u t ; the clinic possesses 1353 mgrm. of radium. There are five sets of apparatus for deep X-ray treatment; 6200 'deep treatments' were given last year. There are two sets of diathermy apparatus. The hospital is the only one of its kind in Sweden, and draws its patients from the whole country. Some operable cases of cancer are treated, but only those in which ample experience has shown that the results are as good as, or better than, those which follow ordinary surgical removal. Among such cases are those of cancer of the face or skin elsewhere, the neck of the uterus, and external sarcomas. In all other conditions only inoperable cases are dealt with, so that the latter form the vast majority. Diathermy is being used more and more, and last year 155 operations by this method were performed. Very often electric coagulation, radium, and X-ray therapy are used in conjunction. The diagnosis of all cases is determined by removal of a portion of the growth and microscopical examination.
The wards were visited and a series of cases demonstrated. They were frankly discussed, and some were extremely interesting. Those worthy of special mention were : (1) Sarcoma of the nasopharynx, inoperable in 1921, now apparently well after treatment with radium and X rays; (2) Three cases of malignant disease of the thyroid with apparent cures--one a case of cancer, the other two of sarcoma. The case of cancer of the thyroid was in a woman, age 45, who had been operated on in January, 1921, as it was then thought to be a case of simple goitre. As the growth proved malignant, the operation had to be abandoned. X-ray treatment was given in February and April, 1921, with very little benefit. In May and June deep X-ray therapy was used with some benefit, but the symptoms of myxcedenla gradually developed. This was treated with thyroid extract, and the X-ray therapy was continued. Ry November there were no signs of malignant disease, and since that time she has progressively improved. The myxcedema
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