New Oncology Treatment Options Are Available

New and improved options for oncology treatment like immunotherapy and laser treatments are needed now more than ever before. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2018 in the United States, there will be well over one million new cancer diagnoses and over 600,000 cancer deaths. (https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/all-cancer-facts-figures/cancer-facts-figures-2018.html#). With numbers like these getting larger every year, early detection and better treatments are the two most significant assets anyone has in the fight against cancer.

Newer oncology treatment options

Targeted therapy

This therapy is a unique, more targeted type of chemotherapy. Different types of cancer cells grow and reproduce in various ways. Understanding how each cancer cell works has led scientists to the development of drugs that focus on each of these differences to more effectively fight cancer. These newer drugs are developed to treat the inner workings of only the cancer cells rather than killing both the cancer cells and the healthy cells like traditional chemotherapy tends to do.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses the body’s natural disease-fighting abilities to combat cancer. While other cancer treatments may weaken the immune system while they kill cancer cells, immunotherapy was developed to reinforce the body with immune system proteins and other components that help the body to fight cancer on its own.

Stem cell transplant

These transplants are used to treat cancers of the immune system and blood. Peripheral blood, bone marrow, and cord blood transplants are all types of stem cell transplants. Immature blood cells that develop in the bone marrow and blood are called stem cells, and they have the power to mature into any blood cell. When used to cure cancer, stem cells are transplanted into the body to develop into cancer-fighting cells.

Hyperthermia

This is a type of controlled heat treatment used to ablate cancer cells. Unusually high temperatures destroy cancer cells and tumors, and they can be used in a way that exposes only the area needing treatment to the heat, protecting most of the healthy cells.

Blood transfusion

Many traditional cancer treatments affect the body’s ability to make new blood as quickly and efficiently as it once could. This is called anemia of chronic disease. New blood and healthy cells are needed to fight cancer cells. Blood transfusions put blood or parts of the blood directly into a person’s body to help fight cancer.

Lasers

Lasers are powerful and precise instruments of light and heat. They can be directed at small areas of cells or at tumors to produce a heat intense enough to kill them or to catalyze better circulation and healing. Some lasers shrink tumors while others activate chemicals that kill only the cancer cells and spare the healthy cells.

Visit our office

If you or someone you know has cancer and need an oncology treatment, visit our office to learn more about options as soon as possible. The sooner cancer is treated, the more likely patients will see a better outcome. Schedule an appointment today to see how cancer treatment is getting better and more precise every day.

Request an appointment in our Marlton office here: https://lindenbergcancer.com.