Many newspaper readers miss learning the basic facts about cancer merely because they balk at articles obviously intended to educate them, Miss Janet Shair, of New York, field consultant for the public education section of the American Cancer Society, explained Friday at a day-long meeting of the ACS's Louisiana divi-son at the Roosevelt hotel,
"If the public would only become aware of the symptoms, realize that they too can be victims and then, if need be, take proper action, they would actually be saving themselves," Miss Shair continued,
Although some persons have to foe shocked into action, there is now a year-around program ("after all, people get sick any time") to stress the "hopeful side" of cancer treatment, Miss Shair said. "The first step toward recovery, however, is for a person who suspects he has cancer to see a physician im- mediately," she added. Pamphlets in French and Spanish would prove a boon to certain Louisiana communities, participants in an afternoon panel discussion agreed. And Miss Shair said she would recommend that such literature be supplied by the national office.
Participating in the discussion were Dr. Homer L. Hitt, head of' the sociology department at Louisiana State university; Dr. John; P. Dyer, director of the university college at Tulane university, and Miss Shair, Dr. William W. Frye, dean of the LSU medical, school, was chairman.
