[The American Cancer Society presents]
[Man Alive!Color by Technicolor. Copyright MCMLII The American Cancer Society]
[Produced by UPA, United Productions of America]
[Story: Bill Scott, William Roberts; Design: Art Heinemann, Sterling Sturtevant; Music: Benjamin Lees]
[Voices: Vic Perrin, Dorothy Scott, Bill Scott; Animation: Cecil Surry, Phil Monroe, Rudy Larriva]
[Color: Robert McIntosh, Doris Gorelick, Michi Kataoka, Jules Engel; Production Manager: Herbert Klynn]
[Executive Producer: Stephen Bosustow; Director: William T. Hurtz]
[Narrator:] The great out-of-doors. Restful, calm, majestic, there's nothing like it to give you the feeling that it's great to be alive.
Everyone shares in the feeling. Everyone, that is, except Ed Parmalee.
Ed has a problem.
No, it isn't Marion, his wife, it's this.
[Ticking noise]
Ed doesn't know what's making that noise. What's more, he's afraid to find out.
Why? He's scared it might be something serious, and his fear has frozen his judgment.
He knows something is the matter with the engine, but because he's scared of what it might be, he won't admit anything's wrong.
That's what a simple fear can do. Here are some other things it can do.
[Marion:] Ed, what's that noise?
[Ed:] Noise? What noise?
[Narrator:] Ed's not really an idiot. He's simply denying the source of anxiety, pretending there's nothing there.
Fear can also make us project the anxiety, try to laugh it off.
[Marion:] It's a kind of "knock-knock, knock-knock."
[Ed:] Oh, I get it! Knock, knock, who's there?
Marion. Marion who? Marion Hayes, repent at leisure. [Laughter]
[Narrator:] Or if that doesn't work, there's the camouflage called icy disdain.
[Marion:] Why don't you go back to Glassner's Garage?
Now, Ed, you're just being stubborn. Just the way you are about your stomach trouble.
[Ed:] Oh, for crying out loud, lay off will you?
[Narrator:] And that was the last refuge in ducking the issue: anger, unreasoning anger.
But you can't drive away anxiety about your car or your stomach by denial, sarcasm, or anger.
There are always reminders.
[Railroad crossing signal]
[The Seven Danger Signals that May Mean Cancer]
[5. Persistent Indigestion]
[Ed:] Forget it.
[Narrator:] And there comes a time when it's impossible to ignore the trouble any longer.
[Car engine bubbles and sputters]
[Music]
So you may want advice. It's easy to get.
[Man 1:] Looks bad. Once they start to go, it's curtains.
[Man 2:] Valve lug! [INAUDIBLE] camshaft.
[Man 3:] Nah, repour the widget fittings.
[Man 4:] My brother-in-law had the same trouble. Blooey!
[Narrator:] Ed is now more confused and worried than he was before.
But what's this? Hmm, "Save expensive repair bills, recondition your own motor, results guaranteed."
[Gasket blows]Well, there are the results. And they're guaranteed.
[Marion:] Now will you take it to Glassner's, Ed?
[Ed:] Well...
[Mechanic:] I'll tell you what I'd do, mac.
[Mechanic:] I'll tell you what I'd do, Mac. Adown the road a ways, a fellow name of Clyde. Got a special system for taking a motor down.
Save you some dough.
[Narrator:] This is Clyde.
Got a special system for taking a motor apart.
[Music]
[Explosion]
[Clyde:] Little worse shape than I figured, jack.
I gotta put in king-sized ring flangers, thermo-distillate pump suppressors, and mill the casing mount.
[Ed:] Mm-hmm.
[Narrator:] Ed didn't save a dime by going to Clyde.
[Music]
[Man:] Too bad, Mr. Parmalee. Wish you'd brought it in when the trouble first started. Now...
[Clang]
Well, here's the tarriff. We'll replace it.
What's the matter, Mr. Parmalee? Something bothering you?
[Narrator:] Yes, something's bothering Ed: his stomach.
As Marion said, it's been on the blink for a couple of weeks now.
Again, Ed's worried and scared.
Worried that his indigestion might be something serious, and scared to face the problem.
So, when the subject comes up...
[Marion:] Why do you take that stuff all the time, Ed?
[Narrator:] He uses the same bag of tricks: denial...
[Ed:] What do you mean? I don't take it all the time.
[Narrator:] Laughing it off...
[Marion:] I don't think it does you any good.
[Ed:] Well, well, the Florence Nightingale of Blake Street. [Laughter]
[Marion:] We were talking about your stomach.
[Narrator:] Icy disdain...
[Music]
And finally, anger.
[Marion:] Ed.
[Marion:] Ed, I wish you'd go and see a doctor...
[Ed:] Out! Get out!
[Narrator:] Just a minute, Ed.
[Ed:] Huh?
[Narrator:] You're being pretty difficult, you know.
[Ed:] I'm being difficult?
[Narrator:] Right. The same as you were about your, uh, car.
[Ed:] Oh.
[Narrator:] You know, your body's a lot like your car motor, except that it's a little harder to buy new parts for it.
When your motor's in good shape, it runs like this.
When something goes wrong, it usually gives you a warning.
[Railroad signal and bubbling noises]
Your body usually gives you a warning, too.
When it does, it's best to pay attention and do something about it.
[Ed:] Do something? My medicine cabinet is loaded with stuff.
[Narrator:] Ed, using that in your stomach is like using this in your engine. It's dangerous.
Look, Ed, you've had indigestion for more than a couple of weeks. Remember that sign board? It's something that could mean cancer.
[Ed:] Yeah.
Well, I might as well give up then. Like the fellows were saying just the other day...
[Man 1:] Cancer? Once it starts in, it's curtains.
[Man 2:] Runs in the family.
[Man 3:] Contagious, too.
[Man 4:] My wife's uncle had it. Blooey!
[Narrator:] You've heard amateur diagnosis before. You ought to know what it's worth: nothing.
[Ed:] Well, what can I do?
[Narrator:] Very simple. Get your clothes on and go, right now, to see a doctor.
[Ed:] Yeah.
[Ed:] Yeah!
[Narrator:] It's perfectly right and normal to be afraid of cancer. Cancer is an enemy, but you don't fight it by getting panicky.
Instead, you take positive action. You go to a man who has the weapons to fight the enemy.
[John Wehner, M.D.]
Wait a minute.
Ed! Ed, that's not the man!
Remember Clyde, the mechanic with the special system? This is the same type of operator.
[Crash]
Yes, the only man to trust is a recognized physician.
Ed's still pretty nervous.
[Nurse:] All right, Mr. Parmalee.
[Narrator:] You're always more scared of something you know nothing about. And Ed has a lot to learn about cancer.
Here are the facts. Cancer is not contagious.
Cancer is not hereditary. Cancer is curable.
Thousands of Americans are cured of cancer every year by one or more of three recognized cures: surgery, x-ray and radium.
You see, a cancer is a group of cells within your body whose growth is uncontrolled and very rapid.
At first, the cancer may be localized.
But unless its growth is checked quickly, it spreads.
It may spread this way, by direct extension.
Or, which is even more dangerous, it may spread like this with cells leaving the main part of the cancer
and entering the bloodstream to lodge and grow in other parts of the body.
This is called metastasis. It can happen to a cancer at any time.
When it does, the problems of locating and attacking the cancer are greatly increased.
Cancer must be found and treated before it extends too far or metastasizes.
Early examination is half the battle in successful cancer treatment.
That means going to a doctor.
With new scientific methods, we can accurately detect cancer much earlier than we could even five years ago.
But in order to get to a doctor early, we must constantly be on the lookout for cancer's danger signals.
Watch for these:
Any sore that does not heal.
A lump or thickening in the breast or elsewhere.
Unusual bleeding or discharge.
Any change in a wart or mole.
Persistent indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.
Persistent hoarseness or cough.
Any change in normal bowel habits.
Thousands of people are enjoying life today because they went to their doctor's early.
But the fact is that twice as many people could be cured of cancer every year if we would all do these things:
Watch for the danger signals.
Ignore rumormongers.
Keep away from quacks.
Put no trust in so-called home remedies for cancer.
Go to the doctor regularly for checkups, and go immediately when a symptom shows up that might mean cancer.
But here's Ed again a few days later waiting for the results of his examination.
[Nurse:] All right, Mr. Parmalee.
[Doctor:] Well, Ed, uh, here are the answers you've been waiting for...
[Narrator:] Ed realizes now how valuable was the time he wasted in denial, sarcasm, and anger.
[Doctor:] ...and worrying. To get to the point you're most concerned about though, Ed,
you do not have cancer.
[Ed:] I don't! I don't!
Oh, what a knucklehead I've been! Oh, why didn't I get down here weeks ago? Oh, boy! No more worrying!
[Narrator:] Hold it, Ed.
It is foolish to worry day and night about cancer, but it's just as foolish not to worry about it at all.
Be on guard. Don't let fear make a mess of your life again, but use your good common sense.
Well, Ed's not making the same mistake twice.
Now, he watches for warning signals and goes to a doctor every six months for a checkup, no matter how well he may feel.
Oh yes, and so does Marion.
What a difference it makes, ensuring their health, their peace of mind, their dispositions.
Ed and Marion are able to enjoy life to its fullest.
[Music]
[The EndUPAUnited Productions of America]
[This film was made possible by your contributions to the American Cancer Society]
[from the film library of the American Medical Association]