Quite possibly, the Roman poison worked some of the time, as well. And more probably, in the future our modern chemotherapy and radiation will be seen as being equally as barbaric - not to mention, often involving known carcinogenic chemicals and effects, themselves. Perhaps, it will look a little like the stretch from Roman electric eels, to modern electroshock therapy - which, strangely enough, is still practiced in some places. It seems we very often merely find fancier, more technologically-advanced ways to perform old-fashioned approaches to problems, rather than new approaches altogether.
