One of the First Cancer Researchers was Macedonian - Anastas Kocarev
Anastas Kocarev, also known in the world of science as Anastas Kotzareff (Ohrid, May 5, 1889 - Geneva, Switzerland, March 29, 1931) was a Macedonian doctor and oncologist. Kocarev was one of the first to work and research on the research and treatment of cancer.
In 1915 he founded the society "Macedonia" in Geneva, in 1918 he united further Macedonian associations and societies from Zurich and Lausanne in the common Macedonian society for an independent Macedonia.
He advocated "a separate and independent Macedonia" and for a Balkan federation. He worked with Nobel Laureate Marie Curie on the problem of diagnosing and treating cancer with radium.
He was one of the pioneers of radiation therapy, but also of radiography. He was the first in the world to take an X-ray on a photographic plate of a patient suffering from cancer. He is most likely the only Macedonian next to Mother Teresa who came very close to the Nobel Prize.
Kocarev was born in Ohrid
Kocarev was born on May 5, 1889 in Ohrid into an old Ohrid family. He finished primary school in Ohrid and high school in Salonica in 1908.
The family tragedy, the death of his mother (cancer) and the two sisters who died young moved the young Anastas to decide to study medicine. His father, who was a famous banker to finance his son's study costs, sold some of the family properties (chiflik) as Anastas was to study at the medical faculty in Geneva.
After graduating, he worked as an assistant at the university clinic, where he also received his doctorate. From 1917 to 1919 he worked as a doctor and private assistant for oncology at the same faculty of medicine. He was totally devoted to science and the Macedonian question. He made broad contacts that he used not only for his medical research, but also for the Macedonian cause.
Dr. Kocarev was particularly interested in experimental drugs. His first scientific article dates from 1914 (Quelquesblessures des nerfsobserveespendant les querresbalkaniques), and the first book was published in 1916 in collaboration with Alfred Ferminin (Theory biosociale du sommeil).
In the same year he was appointed to continue research at the Medical Academy in Sorbonne, Paris. There he continued to work on the problem of diagnosing and treating cancer with radium. This research was conducted in close collaboration with the famous Marie Curie, who at the time was professor and director of the radar laboratory at the Sorbonne University. Later, in his monograph, he expressed his great gratitude to his teacher and colleague Marie Curie.
Academic Society "Macedonia"
Already in 1915 Kocarev renewed the Academic Society "Macedonia", which was a continuation of the Academic Society of Macedonian Odrin Students in Geneva, which was formed after the Ilinden uprising (1904-1915). During the First World War, around 15 Macedonians studied at the University of Geneva.
Members of the society were: Anastas Kocarev, Petar Zdravev, Dimitar Nestorov, Trifun Grekov, Blagoj Toshanov, A. Kopandonov, Aleksandar Krajchev and others. They adopted a set of rules that enabled them to register the company with the university authorities. In 1918 the authoritarian Dr. Kocarev, who had ties to well-known Swiss societies, was unanimously elected president of the society. He advocated "for a self-sufficient and independent Macedonia" and for a Balkan federation.
In 1915, Macedonian students at the University of Zurich founded the Political Society "Macedonia of the Macedonians", and in 1916 the Political Society "Macedonia - Defense of the Rights of Macedonians" was founded in Lausanne, while a Political Society for the Independence of Macedonia was formed in Geneva. At the end of the First World War, there were around 25 Macedonian societies in Switzerland, which at the time of the Versailles Peace Conference formed the main committee of the Macedonian societies for the defense of the integrity and constitution of Macedonia.
In August 1918, Dr. Kocarev united the Macedonian societies from Zurich and Lausanne in the common Macedonian society for an independent Macedonia. On December 15, 1918, they founded the Main Committee of Macedonian Societies in Switzerland or the General Council of Macedonian Societies in Switzerland in Lausanne.
Dr. Kocarev was elected first Vice President (December 15, 1918 - May 2, 1919) and then President (May 2 - July 1, 1919). During this time, the magazine "Macedonian Independence" ("Independence macedonienne") was its publication medium through which the world learned about the struggle and striving of the Macedonian people.
The home of Dr. Kacarski in Geneva and Paris served to advance the Macedonian question before international factors. His contacts in May 1919 with the American professor Herron, who supported the Macedonian people's demand for independence, are also known. Unfortunately, the request of the Main Committee to send a three-person commission to represent the interests of the Macedonian people was rejected by the negotiators at the Paris Peace Conference. But that, Dr. Kocarev and his collaborators did not prevent them from continuing to send telegrams and petitions to call for a fair solution of the Macedonian question.
Letters to the Paris conference for a fair solution of the Macedonian question
In letters to the Paris conference, the main committee of the Macedonian societies in Switzerland insisted on the 14 Wilson points, which provided the right to self-determination of every nation.
Of all the written files, the appeal sent to the whole civilized world in June 1919, by President Dr. Kocerev and his staff signed, of great importance. It is stressed that Macedonians have the right to life and the will of the Macedonian people is expressed for the creation of an independent Macedonian state modeled on Switzerland and under the protectorate of one of the uninterested forces - the United States.
Since Macedonia was still divided, the main board functioned until November 27, 1919. However, the activity of the Academic Society "Macedonia" was noticeable until the end of 1923, and in 1924 it stopped operating after its active members had finished their studies and returned to their home countries. Although nostalgia forced him to return to his birthplace, he stayed in Switzerland, where he continued his research into the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. He hoped that one day he would return to Ohrid to open a cancer research and treatment institute.
In his research work as a doctor, Anastas Kocarev used the injection radius in tissues for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In 1922 he took the first X-ray of a patient with cancer. In 1929 he moved to Paris, where he continued his research. His research makes him one of the pioneers of radio diagnostics and radiation therapy.
From 1921 to 1931, Dr. Kocarev published a number of publications about his research, and there were records of him in the newspapers. His research is even quoted today. He received a prize from the Medical Academy in Paris for his research, and he is one of the first Macedonians to come closest to the Nobel Prize.
Anastas Kocarev never married and devoted his whole life to science and the solution of the Macedonian question. He suffered from a mild form of diabetes but died in Paris on March 29, 1931. It is believed that he was poisoned by secret services of a Balkan country, due his activity regarding the Macedonian question.
Source used and quoted in the article: Professor Anastas Kocarev, First Macedonian Oncologist with Worldwide Reputation and Pioneer in Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment with Radium; by Doncho Donev, Ljupcho Kocarev, Momir Polenakovic
