Heart Disease and Cancer

Heart disease also is no longer considered hereditary. Nevertheless, heart disease, if at all serious, is a contraindication to marriage. First, because the patient's life may be cut off at any time. Second, sexual intercourse is injurious for people having heart disease; it may aggravate the disease or even cause sudden death. It is more injurious even than it is in tuberculosis. Third—and this concerns the woman only—pregnancy has a very detrimental effect upon a diseased heart. A heart that, with proper care, might be able to do its work for years, often is suddenly snapped by the extra work put upon it by pregnancy and childbirth. Sometimes a woman with a diseased heart will keep up to the last minute of the delivery of the child and then suddenly will gasp and expire. In the first year of my practice I saw such a case, and I never have wanted to see another. Women suffering from heart disease of any serious character should not, under any circumstance, be permitted to become pregnant.

Cancer

No man will knowingly marry a woman, and no woman will marry a man, afflicted with cancer. However, this question often comes up in cases where the matrimonial candidates are free from cancer, but where there has been cancer in the family.

Cancer is not a hereditary disease, contrary to the opinions that have prevailed, and, if the matrimonial candidate otherwise is healthy, no hesitation need be felt on the score of heredity. The fear of hereditary transmission of the disease has caused a great deal of mischief and unnecessary anxiety to people. Scientifically conducted investigations and carefully prepared statistics have shown that many diseases formerly considered hereditary are not hereditary in the least degree.

Should it, however, be shown that in one family there were many members who died of cancer, it would indicate that there is some disease or dyscrasia in that family, and the contracting of a marriage with any member of that family would be inadvisable.