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Radium Therapy
 The
first experiments on the biological
properties of radium were successfully made in France with samples from
our laboratory, while my husband was living. The results were, at once,
encouraging, so that the new branch of medical science, called radiumtherapy
(in France, Curietherapy), developed rapidly, first in France and later
in other countries. To supply the radium wanted for this purpose, a radium-producing
industry was established. The first plant was created in France and worked
very successfully, but afterwards manufactures were founded in other countries,
the most important of which are now in America, where great quantities of
radium ore, named “carnotite,” are available. The radiumtherapy
and the radium production developed conjointly, and the results were more
and more important for the treatment of several diseases, and particularly
of cancer. As a consequence of this, several institutes have been founded,
in the large cities, for the application of the new therapy. Some of these
institutes own several grams of radium, the commercial price of the gram
being now about $70,000, the cost of production depending on the very small
proportion of radium in the ore.
It may be easily understood how deeply I appreciated the privilege of realizing
that our discovery had become a benefit to mankind, not only through its
great scientific importance, but also by its power of efficient action against
human suffering and terrible disease. This was indeed a splendid reward
for our years of hard toil.
—from Autobiographical
Notes pp. 199-200. |
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