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Sigmund Freud developed oral cancer in 1923, at the age of 67, and courageously battled it until his death some 16 years later, in 1939. His experiences with this life-threatening illness were the same as those of other people in some ways, but different in others.
In February of 1923 Freud discovered a lesion in his mouth which he thought was a malignant epithelioma. He consulted with physician friends, Maxim Steiner, a dermatologist, and Felix Deutsch, an internist and psychoanalyst, who recognized the lesion for what it was—advanced cancer—but told Freud that it was a leucoplakia, a less serious condition. He was advised to give up smoking, a threat worse than surgery for Freud who was addicted to his cigars. Although both friends repeatedly pressed him to seek consultation with a surgeon, it was not until April, two months later, that Freud did arrange to see Professor Marcus Hajek, a rhinologist, who was an acquaintance of his. According to Schur,3 Hajek was known for some valuable research on the pathology of the sinuses “… but he was generally known to be a somewhat mediocre surgeon ….” (p. 351) Hajek said the trouble was a leucoplakia caused by smoking and advised that the “little growth be removed”.2a Hajek indicated that it would be a small operation and could be done in the out-patient clinic. However, this, Freud's first operation, did not go well, and a lack of honesty on the part of the patient, his friends, and his doctor contributed to the difficulties.
A few days after seeing Hajek, Freud went to the clinic, but did not tell his family that he was going to have the surgery performed. In this situation, as with an episode of cardiac symptoms when he was much younger, he apparently did not want to worry them. The excision was done in the out-patient department where the facilities were