The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way Copyright infringement is against the law If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy Contents Title Page Copyright Notice Epigraph Foreword Preface I The Function of Tension and Charge II Orgone Energy Vesicles (Bions) and the Natural Organization of Protozoa III The Actual Discovery of Orgone Energy IV The Objective Demonstration of Orgone Radiation V The Carcinomatous Shrinking Biopathy VI The Cancer Cell VII Nature and Development of the Orgone Therapy Experiments VIII Results of Experimental Orgone Therapy in Humans with Cancer IX Anorgonia in the Carcinomatous Shrinking Biopathy X The Cancer Biopathy as a Problem of Sexual Sociology Notes Appendix Index Books by Wilhelm Reich Copyright Love, work and knowledge are the well-springs of our life They should also govern it WILHELM REICH Foreword Reich’s theory that cancer is not primarily a tumor that arises mysteriously in an otherwise healthy organism but a systemic disease due to chronic sexual starvation will startle the average person who tends to view a disturbance of sexuality as distressing but not pathogenic It will also enrage many who, because of moral prejudice, find such a connection offensive and untenable Wilhelm Reich, with unerring appreciation for the relatedness of all natural phenomena, disregarded this prejudice and included the orgasm as a subject for serious investigation His studies eventually led to an inquiry into the exact nature of the energy expressed in the orgasm and to its demonstration not only in the living organism but as the common functioning principle in nature The path Reich followed to the discovery of this ubiquitous energy, which he called orgone, is described in The Function of the Orgasm Here, in The Cancer Biopathy, he details the actual discovery of orgone energy and reveals its practical importance to the problem of cancer In so doing, he makes a contribution of enormous significance to an understanding of the gravest and most perplexing disease afflicting humanity today First published in 1948, The Cancer Biopathy is virtually unknown It had an extremely limited distribution and was subsequently forced out of print by an injunction that caused Reich’s books to be withheld or destroyed by an agency of the United States government Fortunately, this new translation appears concurrent with a growing openness to innovative approaches to cancer At the basis of Reich’s cancer theory is orgone energy, which can be utilized in the study of all natural phenomena and in the investigation, treatment, and prevention of disease One would think that the actual proof of the existence of a cosmic energy, about which man has speculated during the entire course of his history, would be eagerly received However, the incapacity of the average human being to experience or understand his own bodily sensations—which are manifestations of the movement of this energy—has made him reject the reality of a specific force that governs his organism Consequently, he has viewed the discovery of orgone energy by Reich as a fantasy or a fraud A major obstacle to an understanding of Reich’s cancer theory is the conventional, mechanistic way of comprehending disease Until fairly recently, actually less than a hundred years ago, diseases were attributed to the effects of the interaction of many variables in the individual and his environment However, beginning with the investigations of Pasteur and Koch, “the doctrine of specific etiology” emerged, according to which a disease is caused by a specific factor, e.g., a bacterium or a virus or a hormonal deficiency Modern medicine is based on this mechanistic viewpoint and it is the one that is presently being supported with vast federal grants in the investigation of cancer Enthusiasm for this approach derives from the knowledge that a single, isolated factor can be introduced to produce disease in an experimental animal or that a mechanical procedure or chemical substance, often serendipitously discovered, can be effective in the treatment of disease There are prominent scientists who take issue with this approach and assert that the search for a specific causal factor is futile Nevertheless, the search continues Several individual “causes” for cancer are being investigated at this time, among them the viral, psychosomatic, and biochemical theories Thus, some investigators are convinced that cancer is an infectious disease of viral origin and believe that a vaccine is soon to be developed Others have drawn attention to the possibility of an interactional psychosomatic etiology and have speculated about the relationship of psychic depression, lack of aggression, etc., to the development of malignant tumors Still others suggest that psychological factors upset the hormonal balance of the organism or depress the mechanisms of immunity, thereby contributing to the etiology of cancer Finally, in the biochemical area, the long-neglected finding by Otto Warburg that the normal oxidative processes are irreversibly damaged in the cancer cell and replaced by anaerobic processes is being reconsidered today, in view of the observation that lack of oxygen appears to contribute to the development of cancer Despite the interest stimulated by these diverse theories, it is evident that many questions about etiology remain unanswered and that much is obscure and confused For instance, if viruses are involved, where or how they originate? If there is something more fundamental than viruses at work, something chemical, what is it? If the emotions are etiologically involved, how they actually produce cancer? That there is a relationship between cancer and viruses, the emotions, the lack of oxygen, etc., appears certain, but what it is or how it brings about the malignant transformation in the tissues is unknown In the absence of known etiology, the treatment of cancer has been largely symptomatic and the results have been unpredictable and generally discouraging In fact, the suffering of the cancer patient is often due as much to the means that are employed to treat the symptoms as to the disease itself Since the tumor is the most visible feature of the disease and is considered by most investigators to be the disease per se, treatment consists either in its excision or in an attempt to destroy it by radiation or chemicals Controversy rages as to the value of these measures For instance, there is constant disagreement about how much tissue need be removed in order to make certain that there are no cancer cells left that will invade and destroy the surrounding healthy tissue George Crile, Jr., M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic, has found many surgical procedures to be excessive and has complained that “in our haste to stamp out cancer by indiscriminate use of surgery, we are forgetting the patient and even disseminating the disease.” Yet, despite the limitations in treating the disease by removing or destroying the tumor, standard medical practice considers the tumor to be virtually the only target for therapeutic intervention because of the mechanistic premise that the tumor arises de novo in an otherwise healthy organism In The Cancer Biopathy, Reich presents a functional theory of cancer that explains the origin and development of the disease and offers possibilities for its treatment and, more importantly, its prevention This is accomplished without excluding the prevalent speculations about the relationship of the disease to infection, emotional disorder, damage to cellular metabolism, the value of simple excision of large tumors, etc The theoretical “cancer virus” is undoubtedly related to Reich’s Tbacilli, which produced cancerous tumors in experimental animals, thus supporting the present infection theory However, to accommodate Reich’s views, the infection theory would have to include the fact that the T-bacillus originates endogenously from the bionous disintegration of living substance (This, of course, discredits the metaphysical theory of “air germs” from which all bacteria are presumed to develop.) The psychic depression or lack of aggression, noted by the psychosomaticists, is Reich’s “characterological resignation.” But, for Reich, “resignation” is not just an interesting finding that is obscurely involved in the origin of the disease; it is the first phase of a shrinking process that results from a disturbance in the discharge of biosexual energy The current theory of oxygen deficiency on the cellular level, originally noted by Warburg, is not an isolated, unexplained finding but, according to Reich, the internal biochemical expression of the impairment of external respiration In other words, in Reich’s theory of cancer these and other factors are not miscellaneous and unconnected; they are symptoms of a systemic disease that has its origin in the prolonged stagnation of the organism’s biological energy That is, these factors have a common origin and then become capable of functioning autonomously, thereby giving the impression of being of primary etiological significance Every feature of cancer is accounted for in Reich’s theory, in contrast to the insufficiencies of all other explanations offered so far He not only made the same observations that are now being individually investigated, but he demonstrated a functional relationship between them which mechanistic methodology has been unable to discover The tragedy is that his findings were greeted with scorn, neglect, and, above all, indifference when they were disclosed over a quarter of a century ago, and that no attempt has ever been made to examine them impartially Even the present interest in Reich’s early writings, which continue to be appropriate and timely in our current social climate, does not extend to his later works, which relate to the discovery of orgone energy Perhaps, however, this new interest will stimulate a more favorable reception for his orgone theory and make possible the utilization of orgone energy in the study and treatment of somatic diseases, such as cancer One hopes that The Cancer Biopathy will provoke neither mystical enthusiasm nor blind rejection Reich anticipated the possibility of irrational reactions to this work and warned that his solution of the cancer problem does not imply that a cure has been found Yet, in spite of his efforts to clarify misunderstandings and discourage excessive expectations, he was ridiculed and condemned for claims he not only did not make but predicted would be falsely attributed to him The fact that he was mindful of the inevitability of the distortions and malevolent reactions is distinctly stated in his preface It should be read carefully to avoid any misconceptions regarding what he actually did claim In addition, to dispose of any lingering doubt in this respect, the attention of the reader is also directed to the last chapter, in which Reich emphatically states that the ultimate solution to the cancer problem lies in preventing the disease rather than in curing it The means to this solution are to be found primarily in the social realm, for it is our repressive social order that creates the sexual misery and the resulting stagnation of biological energy from which cancer originates Chester M Raphael, M.D Forest Hills, N.Y 1973 Preface This book is the second volume of The Discovery of the Orgone and is the direct continuation of the first volume, The Function of the Orgasm It is composed of a series of articles concerning the discovery of cosmic orgone energy, first published between 1942 and 1945 in the International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research These essays are being offered in collected form so that orgone biophysics may be seen more clearly as a logical outcome of relevant observations, experiments, and work hypotheses The unprejudiced reader will now be able to convince himself more easily than through the individual articles that the discoverer of orgone energy was much more a tool of scientific logic and consistency than a creator of “new theories.” The wealth of facts and deductions recorded in this volume far exceeds the inventive capacities of the human mind During the process of the discovery of cosmic orgone energy my task was not to construct theories but simply and solely to record my observations with care, integrity, and objectivity, to verify them by appropriate experiments, and to build the logical bridges of thought between one realm of functioning and another I have in part rearranged the previously published articles in order to avoid repetition and to present the contributions in chronological order I have also added an account of the errors inherent in the “air-germ theory.” Further, for the benefit of the specialist in cancer research, a discussion is included to establish the relation between classical and orgonomic cancer research At the conclusion of the sections on orgone physics, there is a short note on the demonstration of atmospheric orgone energy by the use of the Geiger-Müller counter Unfortunately, a comprehensive account of this phenomenon was impossible for reasons of time, since it was not discovered until the summer of 1947 I hope and believe this volume will be accessible to the scientifically untrained reader who has familiarized himself with the principles of scientific research in general and orgonomy in particular Sections that are too technical can be passed over by such readers without undermining their understanding of the whole The present volume comprises the results of work done over a period of seventeen years, between 1930 and 1947 I have concentrated on essentials, since any attempt to include all the details would have made the book unreadable There will be opportunity enough in other contexts to provide any important information omitted here It is regrettable but understandable that this volume cannot provide a complete account There are still many gaps in orgone research, as is always the case in objective natural science It provides neither a “system of thought” nor a new “philosophy of nature,” merely new facts and some new FIGURES 64a and b Compact, hard breast cancer tumors from two untreated mice 64c Sections from stomach and duodenum in which artificial cancer was produced (T-mouse) Atrophic gastric mucosa; polypous cancerous growths; masses of cancer cells in the peritoneum FIGURE FIGURE 64d Mouse tumor showing putrid disintegration 64e Tumor taken from mouse treated with orgone energy Large cavities, previously blood-filled Detritus (left) containing dead T-bacilli Replacement by connective tissue (center) Residual cancer masses (middle and right) FIGURE 64f Tumor from a mouse treated with orgone energy Large, previously blood-filled cavities now contain cancer tissue and detritus consisting of T-bacilli FIGURE 64g Tumor from mouse cured with orgone energy Small amount of distintegrated cancer tissue present Detritus, in center, sterile Replacement connective tissue in lower part FIGURE Index The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below abasia, orgonomic explanation and treatment of Adam and Auler agglutination of bacteria and orgone energy withdrawal air germs, theory of; absurdities of; refutation of “algae,” and bions amoebae, and cancer cells; flowing (amoeba limax); and the living process; in sputum of a cancer patient; destructivity of; locomotor function of anemia, secondary, cause of in cancer; effect of orgone accumulator on angina pectoris, orgone accumulator in the treatment of anorgonia, in cancer; and shrinking; degree of orgonity and susceptibility to; functional paralysis and anxiety neurosis, and local tumor formation Asher autism, infantile autoclavation of red blood cells, see blood tests autocurative mechanism in cancer autoinfection due to tissue disintegration autonomic nervous system; traditional and orgonomic view of; the amoeba and; and the pleasure function; and cancer pain; and the falling sensation; and cell nucleus bedsores and burns, local orgone treatment of Bergson, Henri Bierisch, R biogenesis; and the origin of cancer cells biological energy, stagnation of; properties of biological functioning, diagram of biological pulsation; and sexual stasis; and the life process biological vigor; and hemoglobin bions, discovery and definition of; degeneration of; and protozoal organization; composition of; experimental production of from coal; development of carbon bion; microscopic examination of; biological stain reaction of; sources of; forms of movement of; iron; and “algae”; motility of heaps of; color of; cultures of and air germs; see also earth bions, PA bions, SAPA bions Bloch blood tests, orgone-biophysical; see also T-blood test Blumenthal, Ferdinand Bon, W F Borst, Max Böwing B-reaction “Brownian movement” Burr, H S cancer, generalized symptoms in; sexual stasis and; muscle spasm and; nature of pain in; theories of the origin of; sexual function and cancer biopathy, requirements for an understanding of; and sexual sociology; see also carcinomatous shrinking biopathy cancer cell, riddle of the origin of; and protozoa; typical stages in the development of; development in the T-mouse experiment; product of a defense reaction cancer cure, question of in orgone therapy cancer death in old age cancer disposition; universality of cancer in children, prenatal factors in cancer metabolism and anoxia cancer pain, see autonomic nervous system cancer prevention; “Orgonon” plan cancer research, errors in; riddles in cancer therapy, conventional; rationale of; see orgone therapy cancer tumor, relationship of to cancer disease; localization of; as a defense reaction carbon dioxide excess in cancer tissue carcinomatous shrinking biopathy cardiovascular biopathy “cell excitation,” see orgonotic cell lumination Cohnheim, O Cori Curie, Marie cyanide and T-bacilli Darwin, Charles death instinct, refutation of Freud’s hypothesis of Dellman De Vries disintegration, vesicular, of swelling matter; see also PA bions disposition to disease; see also cancer disposition Döflein, F Dreifuss Driesch, Hans drugs, adverse effect in cancer Du Teil, Roger earth bions, preparation of; effect of on erythrocytes; application of in cancer mice; application of in humans earth bion water, fluorophotometric demonstration of orgone energy in edema in cancer, orgone biophysical explanation of Einstein, Albert élan vital electricity, and biological energy; effect of on muscle-nerve preparation; effect of on the living organism electroscope, response of to insulators exposed to bion cultures, the sun, and in contact with the living organism; see also orgonometry, electroscopic; radium electroscope emotional plague entelechy erythrocytes, in health and cancer; effect of earth bions on; “sympatheticotonia” in; T-spikes in; color of Ewing, James Experiment XX falling anxiety, and preorgastic excitation; in character neurosis and cancer; in an infant; orgone-biophysical explanation of; see also anorgonia Faraday cage, and the visualization of orgone radiation “fertilization,” and PA bion formation filming, of the organization of protozoa; of SAPA radiation; of the organization of Trichomonas vaginalis finalism, teleological Fischer, A flickering in the sky, made objective; and haze or fog; and humidity force créatrice Fränkel, Ernst Freud, Sigmund fright paralysis functional disease, nature of functional view of nature fusion and interpenetration, orgonomic significance of in protozoa and metazoa galvanic current, effect of on body Geiger-Müller counter, demonstration of motor force with grass infusion, development of protozoa in, see protozoa Gurwitsch Havrevold, Odd hebephrenia, biopathic shrinking in Heidenheim heredity, and energetic functionalism; of acquired characteristics; and cancer; “heredity of temperament” and orgastic potency Hertwig, Richard Höber, R Hoff Hoppe, Walter hypertension, effect of orgone accumulator on immune bodies, and PA bions and T-bacilli immunity, and orgonotic potency Infeld, Leopold infiltration, in cancerous tissue International Journal of Sex Economy and Orgone Research involution, and organismic shrinking iron bions, preparation and examination of Itschikawa Jennings Kahane Kallikak family Kammerer, Paul; and heredity of acquired characteristics Kenneway Klenitsky Koch, Robert Kraus, R “Kreiselwelle,” see spinning wave lactic acid, in cancerous tissue Ladenburg, Rudolf W Lange, Friedrich Lapique, Louis, rejection of publication plan of Laser Leeuwenhoek, Anthony van leukemia; case of latent Leyden life energy, properties of life formula, see T-C (tension-charge) formula light, question of subjective impressions of Lindner Lister, Joseph L Lönne, F Lubarsch lumination, and attraction; demonstration of orgonotic; in cell nuclei; mitogenetic radiation and magnetism, and orgonotic attraction Marburg materialism, mechanistic mechanistic comprehension of disease metastases, orgonomic explanation of metazoa, biological pulsation in mitogenetic radiation, see lumination mortality figures for non-biopathic and biopathic diseases motor force in orgone energy Moxnes muscle spasm, in cancer; and localization of metastases mysticism, and mechanistic biology “natural leak,” and the atmospheric orgone neurosis, cause and elimination of nursing, and orgonotic contact orgasm, oral orgasm, orgonomic description of orgasm anxiety, and fear of dying orgasm formula, see T-C (tension-charge) formula orgasm function; and cellular metabolism orgasm reflex; in cancer orgastic discharge, nature of orgastic impotence orgone accumulator, effect of on red blood cells; effect of on grass infusion; construction of; principles in construction of; basic design of; relief of pain in; temperature rise in; irradiation of the total organism in; in pregnancy orgone energy; SAPA bions and the discovery of; in the atmosphere; derivation of term; charging of red blood cells with; relationship of atmospheric oxygen to; and organic matter; visualization of in the atmosphere; demonstration of effect on organic substance and metal; measurement of in the open air; quantitative determination of; and weather formation; envelope of the planet; motor force in; forms of medical application of orgone energy field orgone energy field meter orgone energy metabolism of the cell, and the orgasm function orgone energy vesicles, see bions orgone flakes, biological nature of; chemical composition of; development of protozoa from “orgone hunger,” Orgone Institute orgone physics orgone radiation; vagotonic effect of in cancer patients orgone therapy, in cancer; effect on erythrocytes; a biological therapy; effect on the embryo; experiments with mice; rationale of; function of the blood in; relief of pain with; experimental results of in humans; compared with X-ray and radium therapy; elimination of tumor detritus in; failures in; relationship to fever; sex-economic problems in; methods of application of; local application of; in diseases other than cancer orgone water orgonometry, electroscopic orgonometry, thermic; measurements indoors; measurements in open air; measurements in soil and atmosphere; experimental conclusions orgonomia orgonomic potential orgonoscope orgonotic attraction, in energy field of orgone accumulator orgonotic cell lumination orgonotic potency, of fluids; fluorescence and; of tissues orgonotic pulsation, in non-living matter “orgonotic sensation,” orgonotic system, red blood corpuscles as; protozoan as; cell as; diagram of orgontin “org”-protozoa oxygen deficiency in cancer; see also Warburg, Otto PA bions; effect of on T-bacilli; in mouse injection experiment; and platelets paralysis, functional paramecia, origin of Pasteur, Louis Pauli pendulum, oscillations of in energy field of metal sphere Pfeiffer, L Pflüger plasma system, and biopathic shrinking platelets, blood, and PA bions Podwyssozki poikilocytosis, see erythrocytes, T-spikes in Popoff Pouchet, Felix pregnancy, use of orgone accumulator in “premortem necrosis” and advanced cancer; see also putrefaction prenatal environment and embryonic development protoplasm, and machines protozoa, natural organization of from bions; and the concept of “encysted germs,”; in grass infusions; stages in the development of in sterile, particle-free bion water; autumnal grass and; absorption of bions by pulsation, in non-living matter; observation of in the atmosphere; see also biological pulsation “purpose,” in living matter putrefaction, due to biopathic shrinking; ante-mortem in cancer; after death Quincke radiating bridge between two orgonotic systems radium electroscope, nil effect of on SAPA bion cultures Rance red blood corpuscles, effect of on pathogenic microorganisms; fate of in cancerous tumors; see also erythrocytes Reichardt Reid religion, and the living process resignation; and blocked affect resorption, intestinal, orgone-biophysical explanation of respiratory inhibition, and systemic cancer disease rot bacteria in cancer Rous sarcoma Ruffer Russell SAPA (sand-packet) bions; appearance of; evidence of radiation from; effect on microorganisms and cancer cells; treatment of cancer mice with Sawtschenko Schaudinn schizophrenia Schuller sex-economy, and cancer sexual starvation and cancer shrinking, biopathic; characterological expression in; without tumor; phases of spasm, and tumor formation specific etiology, doctrine of spinning wave staphylococcus, bacteriological and orgone-biophysical description of stasis, and bionous disintegration stasis, sexual, elimination of; the common denominator in cancer; and T-reaction stasis neurosis and biopathic shrinking static electricity sympatheticotonia, manifestations of in various organ systems “sympatheticotonia” of the erythrocytes tar cancer in mice T-bacilli; some sources of; effect on healthy mice T-blood test T-C (tension-charge) formula Templeton, Herman O thermodynamics, second law of, and the orgonotic process Thorburn, W T-reaction treatment, conventional, of cancer tumor Trichomonas vaginalis; and genital frigidity Tsutsui Üxküll vaginal anesthesia vagotonic expansion, in orgone therapy; and pleasure vegetotherapy vesicular disintegration of tissue in cancer vitalists vorticellae, see org-protozoa Wagner-Jauregg, Julius Walker Warburg, Otto Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust Fund Yamagiwa BOOKS BY WILHELM REICH Character Analysis Ether, God and Devil / Cosmic Superimposition The Function of the Orgasm The Invasion of Compulsory Sex-Morality Listen, Little Man! The Mass Psychology of Fascism The Murder of Christ Reich Speaks of Freud Selected Writings The Sexual Revolution Copyright © 1973 by Mary Boyd Higgins as Trustee of the Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust Fund Der Krebs, Volumes I and II copyright © 1971 by Mary Boyd Higgins as Trustee of the Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust Fund Earlier translation published under the title The Discovery of the Orgone, Volume Two: The Cancer Biopathy, copyright 1948 by the Orgone Institute Press, Inc All rights reserved Library of Congress catalog card number: 72-97611 ISBN 0-374-11836-1 Published simultaneously in Canada by Doubleday Canada Ltd., Toronto eISBN 9781466846869 First eBook edition: May 2013 ... that the wealth of material gathered together by the painstaking efforts of mechanistic cancer research was indispensable for my new understanding of the cancer biopathy, despite the fact that the. .. Reich, the internal biochemical expression of the impairment of external respiration In other words, in Reich s theory of cancer these and other factors are not miscellaneous and unconnected; they... respect, the attention of the reader is also directed to the last chapter, in which Reich emphatically states that the ultimate solution to the cancer problem lies in preventing the disease rather