The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Why did doctors dismiss the cancer found in chimney sweeps? How did cancer continue to be dismissed by others throughout time?
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Originally, doctors dismissed the cancer, assuming that it was simply a sexually transmitted disease. In those days, chimney sweeps were often believed to be sexually promiscuous and prone to sores in the genital region. At other times, various people did not want to believe that smoking caused lung cancer. This was frequently supported by the tobacco companies.