21 May 2022 | New Scientist | 31Cancer foes
THIS eclectic selection of objects
is linked by a single goal: to defeat
one of the most common, but
deadliest, diseases. They form
part of Cancer Revolution:
Science, innovation and hope,
an exhibition developed by the
UK’s Science Museum Group
that explores the advances
behind cancer care.
Some treatments for cancer
can be nasty. People may need to
take medication to manage any
side effects, as demonstrated by
the one-month supply of drugs
(top, far left) for a person with non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These are
to alleviate the unwanted impacts
of chemotherapy, which can
include pain and sight loss.
During radiotherapy, masks
moulded to a patient’s affected
region are used to hold them still
and ensure a radiation dose can be
given accurately, such as the one
worn by a throat cancer patient
shown here (top, near right).
Other objects at the exhibition
include (bottom row, left to right):
an early device for producing
X-rays for radiotherapy from
around 1917, used to treat tumours
near the surface of the skin; an
anatomical model of the inside of
a 6-year-old girl’s abdomen, 3D
printed to allow surgeons to plan
the removal of her tumour;
capsules of radium that are placed
inside patients to deliver localised
radiotherapy; and a jar of the root
of black hellebore (Helleborus
niger), which was used to treat
cancer in the 1700s.
Cancer Revolution is on at
the Science Museum in London
from 25 May. ❚
Gege Li