The relation of cancer to life assurance : a paper read at the Life Assurance Medical Officers' Association, May 5th, 1897, with a discussion / by Joseph Frank Payne.

  • Payne, Joseph Frank, 1840-1910.
Date:
[1897]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The relation of cancer to life assurance : a paper read at the Life Assurance Medical Officers' Association, May 5th, 1897, with a discussion / by Joseph Frank Payne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    So with Cancer. Even if the parasitic theory of this disease should be proved (which I for one do not expect), and it should be shown that Cancer may be acquired by direct infection, the evidence of heredity would still remain. We should only have to put it in this way: that there are certain individuals who inherit a peculiar susceptibility to the cause of Cancer, whatever that cause may be. Before leaving the question of heredity, I should like inciden¬ tally to refer to one curious problem. M. Critzmann (quoted in Bouchard’s “ Pathologie Generale ” loc. cit) has put forward a theory of Cancer which I cannot now criticize or even state; but which involves two remarkable conclusions. One is that Cancer occurs with special frequency in families which show a special proclivity to twin births. Another is that twins them¬ selves cannot suffer from Cancer. I only venture to suggest these two questions to members of this society. Can any one bring forward evidence of the coin¬ cidence of Cancer and twin births in a family history ? Can any instance be brought forward of Cancer occurring in one or both of a pair of twins ? Any positive answers to these questions would, I think, be of great interest; and not without some bearing on Life Assurance. Relation of Cancer to Longevity. The importance of any disease in relation to Life Assurance obviously depends upon how far it tends to shorten life; that is, at what age death, if it should be caused by that disease, is likely to occur. In the case of Cancer we may dismiss the questions of general delicacy, or liability to other ailments, since it is generally admitted that the subjects of Cancer are not, as a rule, bad lives in other respects. It has even been said that cancerous families are notable for longevity, but to this statement I attach no importance. The special risk in accepting a life supposed to have a predisposition to Cancer is limited to the probability of his dying of that disease, and depends evidently upon the age at which that may be expected to carry him off, supposing the probability should be fulfilled. It appeared to me at first that the best method of estimating this probability would be to establish the average at which death * from Cancer occurs. But not only is such an average very difficult to establish, but I find that is not regarded by statisticians