Cancer: an ancient disease
Cancer is often linked to modern lifestyles and industrialization, but evidence of its existence goes back much further than that. Scientists and archaeologists have discovered evidence that shows the disease has been with humanity for thousands, if not millions, of years. From ancient Egyptian mummies to 1.7 million-year-old fossils found in South Africa, signs of cancer have been found everywhere. Let us know when and where the first case of cancer was observed.
17 million year old fossil from South Africa
The oldest evidence of cancer in the world has come from South Africa. Scientists have discovered signs of bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in the leg bone of an ancient human, which is about 1.7 million years old. This discovery proves that cancer is not just a modern-day disease, but it has been present since the beginning of human evolution.
First written information in ancient Egypt
The earliest known case in written documents is found in ancient Egypt. The document called the ‘Edwin Smith Papyrus’, which dates back to around 2625 BC, is believed to be the oldest surgical book in the world. It refers to a cold, round tumor (breast cancer) in a patient’s chest. Interestingly, it was written about the treatment of this disease – “No cure”.
naming cancer
The word ‘cancer’ originated in ancient Greece. Around 400 BC, the ‘Father of Medicine’ Hippocrates observed the tumor and compared its shape to that of a crab and named it ‘Karkinos’. Later the Roman physician Celsus changed it to ‘Cancer’ in Latin. Since then this name became famous all over the world.
ancient evidence of cancer
Ancient evidence of cancer has been found in various parts of the world, not just Egypt or Greece. Metastatic cancer (spreading cancer) was found in the skeleton of a young man from 1200 BC in Sudan. Cancer is also mentioned in records from the 14th century BC in China. All these discoveries show that cancer is not just a modern disease, but one of the ancient diseases of humanity.
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