All the Strange Things People Take as Food Fish, Cancer, and Medical Consultations in Padua at the Dawn of the Early Modern Period

In the Therapeutic Method to Glaucon, Galen devotes a chapter to the “Causes and Treatment of Cancer and Elephantiasis.” With regard to diet, he recommends: “Among fish, prescribe those that live among rocks.” This article examines that prescription as it appears in medical consultations relating to “cancer” published in Padua at the beginning of the early modern period. The term cancer and the localization of the affected organs (breast, uterus, liver, nostril, lip) are discussed in light of the pathophysiological knowledge of the time. Galen’s observation concerning “rock fish” is further clarified in his treatise On the Powers of Foods, while the exclusion of other types of fish is justified by their “viscous” nature.
The second part of the article addresses the following question: was the Paduan dietary regimen prescribed for cancer similar to that recommended for other diseases? Among these were arthritis, disorders affecting the reproductive organs, “stones in the kidneys or gallbladder,” “headaches accompanied by ringing in the ears,” and others. By contrast, pike, sea bream, and red mullet were considered wholesome foods.