Americans Do Not Ava Themselves According Surgeon to General Of Medical Care a recent by of the report U. S. the Public Health Service, too many Americans do not realize what their doctors can do for them. Some people are afraid to go to a doctor. They are afraid if they have symptoms and afraid if they have none. The ideal time to seek medical service is when you are free of symp- toms. Too many people fail to realize that polio, blindness, tuberculosis, high blood pressure and a host of other disorders can be prevented or their effects greatly lessened. The report states that 20 per cent of all Americans do not even have a fam- ily doctor. Because of lack of medical attention 150,000 die needlessly each year. Annually, 260,000 Americans die of cancer. At least 85,000 of such deaths could be prevented. Rheumatic heart trouble takes an annual toll of 18,000. Most of these deaths are unnecessary. In the tuberculosis field, 10,000 persons in the U. S. die each year. By constant | watching and medical service the total deaths and new cases are being reduced to a small fraction. An estimated 1 million people are blinded by glaucoma without knowing it. At least 85 per cent of such blind- | ness could be averted. Hearing defects are evident in approximately 1 million school children. Routine hearing tests could greatly reduce this number. All this suffering and unnecessary deaths could be greatly reduced if individuals would place themselves in the © hands of a good physician; have periodic check ups; accept medical treatment and work in communities for better health services. By working with doctors, civic lead- ers, and health organizations, good citizens can help establish better health services. These, in turn, will greatly reduce the unnecessary death and suffering that now exists in most every American community. A soe eee