Propaganda anticancerosa, mobiliza o de elites e consciência sanitária em Portugal : despertar consciências e educar para a saúde na primeira metade do século XX

The object of this article is the Portuguese anticancer propaganda in the first half of the 20th century. It intends to show that although greater propagandistic efforts were made following the foundation of the Instituto Português para o Estudo do Cancro in 1923, it would become more intense during the Estado Novo period. The impact of medical discourse on social agents and politicians, materialized into a campaign of constant social persuasion. The preventive attitude of the fight against cancer became one of the main agents in the conquest of national health awareness, in a country still devoid of relevant achievements in areas such as health education for the masses.