Fighting Fear

The theme of the exhibit was cancer, and its motto "Conquest of Fear." At first glance it might have been expected to cause more fear than it conquered, for on display in the Marine Corps Armory in Rome, Ga. last week were 60 anatomically accurate, full-colored models of all the human organs commonly invaded by cancer, showing them in the grip of its malignant growth. There were, besides, all the stainless-steel instruments with which doctors probe for cancer, or cut it out when they find it. Nothing was taboo: the cervix of the womb was shown lifesize. There was even a jar containing a malformed fetus in a cancerous womb.

Yet the 21,860 people who came to the three-day exhibit agreed almost unanimously that they were heartened by what they saw. Sponsor of the exhibit, with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, was Georgia-born Surgeon Crawford R. Brock, who believes that only utter frankness can break down something even worse than the fear of cancer itself--the fear of a diagnosis of cancer, which keeps too many victims from the doctor until it is too late.

Despite the grim sights, the exhibit offered much hope. At each of the 26 booths, a victim of cancer who has undergone successful surgery was in attendance, living testimony to the efficacy of early detection and prompt treatment. Other townspeople allowed use of before-and-after pictures, some showing faces horribly deformed by cancer, then repaired by skillful surgery. One of the most eloquent volunteer exhibits was a man who had had his vocal cords removed for cancer of the larynx: Deputy Sheriff Sproul Dean, who has learned to speak through his gullet with swallowed air. Said he: "I recovered from that thing, and I want to show others that they can, too."

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