The article explores the history of cancer education campaigns, their role in disease control policies, and the changes they underwent between 1920 and 1950. Through images, we see how concepts that arose in the early twentieth century have persisted in the field of cancerology. Medical arguments about the great likelihood of curing the disease were grounded on two things: early diagnosis and specialized medical treatment. The notion of prevention also figured in, with the main form of protection believed to be avoidance of any external cause of tissue irritation. Although the aesthetics of these campaigns has shifted over time, including efforts to attract the public and call their attention to the dangers of the disease, their conceptual basis has remained the same.
education campaigns; cancer control; National Cancer Service (SNC); Mario Kroeff; Brazil
