Paper presented June 9, 1990 at the 39th Congress of continuing medical education in Berlin. Pres.: Prof. Dr. Dr. G. Schettler. Transl. H. Jurgen.

The following thoughts about malignomas in youth and old age might be helpful acquiring a basic understanding of the anthroposophical way of looking at health and illness. The taking into account of man's time structure is of fundamental importance for this understanding. In view of the polar relationship between youth and age, let's make the following things clear to ourselves again in connection with Dr. Dumke's previous remarks.(1) One can only understand the organic processes of the embryonic period and childhood from an anthroposophical point of view if one knows that they are primarily an expression of man's etheric body. The etheric body is an invisible force organization which permeates the entire physical body and gives it specific vital attributes. The etheric body cannot be directly investigated by natural scientific means but only by the spiritual scientific ones which Rudolf Steiner has described in detail….

Includes bibliography.