How Was Cancer Treated in Ancient Greece?
By
Philip Chrysopoulos -
Jul 10, 2018
Even though the first case of cancer was recorded in Egypt in 1600 BC, it was Hippocrates (410-360 BC), the father of medicine, who identified and gave the name “cancer†to the illness that blights humanity to this day.
Hippocrates described several kinds of cancer, calling them “karkinosâ€, the Greek word for crab, or karkinoma (carcinoma). The word came from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with the veins stretched on all sides as crab’s feet.
Hippocrates’ conception of cancer was the humoral theory, as he believed that the body contained four humors (body fluids) — namely blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Any imbalance of these fluids would result in disease and excess of black bile in a particular organ site was thought to cause cancer.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/07/10/how-was-cancer-treated-in-ancient-greece/
