老病新医:近代中国乳腺癌的治疗变革、知识传播与社会认知

Breast Cancer in Modern China: Treatment Improvement, Information Dissemination and Social Awareness

乳腺癌是一种女性容易罹患的恶性疾病。在西方医学传入中国之初,外科手术的安全性和疗效有限,中国人"不敢损伤身体"的传统观念影响西医侵入式疗法在中国的推广。传统中医在乳腺肿瘤诊疗方面的悠久历史和丰富经验仍在发挥作用。西医治疗手段要被中国民众接纳,不仅取决于技术本身,还取决于社会文化因素的嬗变,特别是传统身体观念的突破。20世纪30年代后,伴随对"乳房"的关注和各种渠道对于乳腺癌知识的传播,部分民众建立起乳腺癌"早发现,早治疗"的意识。加之手术和放疗技术的发展,西医治疗逐渐为民众接纳。但在中国不同地区,乳腺癌认知和治疗依然呈现巨大差异。近代中国乳腺癌的治疗变革和知识传播接受,为理解当代中国癌症防治的成就和局限提供了历史视角。

Breast cancer is a malignant disease that women are prone to suffer from.Nonetheless, the safety and efficacy of surgery as part of western medicine introduced into China were limited partly because of the Chinese traditional notion of “guarding against any damages of the body” that affected the promotion of such invasive therapy.The long history and rich experience of traditional Chinese medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of breast tumors were still playing a role.To accept western style of treatment would require changes in Chinese perspectives of the body.Since 1930 s, together with the proposal and response of the decree banning breast restraint, and the spread of knowledge about breast cancer through various channels, more and more people were aware of the dangers of breast diseases.Coupled with the development of surgery and radiotherapy technology, western medicine treatment was gradually accepted in China.However, there were still huge differences in awareness and treatment of breast cancer in different regions of China.The transformation of breast cancer treatment and the dissemination of information about breast cancer would provide a historical perspective for an understanding of the achievements in cancer prevention and treatment in contemporary China.