Radium was hailed as a wonder element, with radium sweets, tonics and so on being produced. It was found within a couple of years of its discovery that it could be used to shrink cancer tumours. What I'd like to know is how they managed to spot that radiation shrinks tumours, or rather why they would be treating people with it in order to see this.
According to the ACS, the discovery of radiation in 1896 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen was a huge advancement in cancer therapy. Within months of the discovery, X-rays were being used for diagnosis, and within three years, radiation was used in cancer treatment. According to the ACS, radiation therapy began with radium and low-voltage diagnostic machines. French doctors discovered that daily doses of radiation over several weeks would greatly improve therapy results. In the early 20th century, radium was being used in small tubes for insertion directly into tumors or body cavities containing cancer, which allowed for treatments of inoperable areas, like the cervix and larynx, according to the American Society of Radiation Oncology. [Source: The History of Cancer Therapy]
The Radium Girls were women who worked in a factory painting watch dials with Radium. They suffered horrible disfigurements and ultimately death from radiation poisoning. Radium acts like calcium in the body, and is used by the body in place of calcium. Instead of making bones strong, it shoots them with alpha particles, causing holes so that the bones become brittle and break.
Part 1: The Radium Girls
Part 2: Life in the Undark
Part 3: A Dazzle in the Bones
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