Hippocrates And Breast Cancer

Cancer is a fatal disease which affects millions of people around the world. There are over 200 existing cancers throughout the world. Among the hundreds of existent cancers, one of the most recognized is breast cancer. Breast cancer has affected both men and women worldwide and continues to affect them each and every day. Breast cancer is a cancer which develops in the tissue of the breast. Cancer can be fatal and just simply life changing. Breast cancer has been around for an estimated 3,500 years. Ancient Egyptians, along with Ancient Greeks were aware of the disease back in 460 B.C. Hippocrates had a theory that breast cancer was associated with black bile which was one of the four humors. Hippocrates believed that the body was

On the other hand, there was Galen. Galen went deeper into the idea of breast cancer in 200 A.D. Just like Hippocrates, Galen also believed that breast cancer was a result of excess black bile. Although, Galen was aware that some cancer tumors were more dangerous than others, something that Hippocrates did not realize. Galen theorized that breast cancer could be medically treated by using opium, licorice, salves, sulphur, and castor oils. Unfortunately, during this era, the cancer was thought to affect the whole body thus, surgery was not an option. Later on, new ideas and theories were developed about this cancer during the 17th and 18th centuries. Both Paris physician Claude- Deshais and French physician Francois de la Boe Sylvius challenged the theories previously recorded by Galen and Hippocrates. The propositions that these two men made in response to Galen and Hippocrates’s theories excluded black bile and suggested that breast cancer developed from the vessels and chemicals in the body. Another wild theory which was composed in the 18th century was stated by Bernardino Ramazzini in 1713. His hypothesis stated