The Journals of Martha E. McMillan

Cancer Treatment during Martha McMillan’s Time (1913) Taylor Stephens 2015 After reading the last four months of Martha McMillan’s life, it is clear that some sort of serious illness ended her life. This illness is described as “sickness of the bowels, liver, and stomach” in her death certificate. Her illness was accompanied by multiple symptoms such as lethargy, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Martha, being a strong, stoic woman, did not record much of her personal struggles this late in life and chose instead to focus on her family, especially her grandson Rankin. However, after conferring with Suzanne Lefever, R.N., it seems most likely to me that she suffered from a mixture of rheumatism, or rheumatoid arthritis, and abdominal cancer. During the last few weeks of her life, she traveled to Kenton, Ohio, where she received what she calls “treatments,” a frustratingly vague statement which is not explained in the journal. What then was involved in these treatments? When she traveled to Kenton, Martha did not go to a hospital. She stayed at a private residence with her nurse Miss Benline and a few other women who were also ill. Because of this situation, it can be deduced that she did not receive any form of radiation treatment during this time in her life, because the equipment could only be found at a hospital, and she never mentions going to a hospital to receive treatment (McDonnell). Dr. Lathina, her oncologist, came to administer these treatments at the residence in Kenton. Because they are not administered at a hospital, it also seems to be a more experimental treatment. A cancer treatment that was rising in popularity during this time was trypsin, which contained enzymes derived from animal pancreas, and was a liquid that would be injected directly into a tumor, or a powder to be dissolved in water and ingested orally. 217