The Unsuspecting

Doctors are no longer surprised by the large numbers of seemingly hale & hearty people who prove on examination to need medical care. Indeed, this fact is the basis of doctors' urgings to all to have regular checkups. Sometimes, however, such examinations are equally valuable because they show that individuals who think themselves sick are really well.

Such was the case in Stibnite, Idaho, where the Mayo Foundation's Dr. J. D. Mortensen gave 391 mineworkers and dependents a thorough going-over. No less than 534 unsuspected disorders, ranging from tooth cavities to heart disease and cancer, were found. About half the subjects had two or more medical problems.

But, reports Dr. Mortensen in GP, published by the American Academy of General Practice, there was a reverse twist in the findings on cancer. Seven proved malignancies were detected, but none of these was in any of the eight persons who announced that they thought they had cancer. Thus the checkup helped both those who were mistakenly confident and those with groundless fears.

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