These days, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to mean chemo - and the nausea, vomiting and hair loss most people think of. These medications help stop the growth of the cancer cells, often without harming healthy cells. If a patient tests positive for HER2, oncologists at RUSH use a medication or a combination of medications developed to target the gene, such as trastuzumab or pertuzumab. Like immunotherapy, targeted therapies can be used at any stage: as a first treatment, to keep the cancer from coming back or if a cancer returns.įor instance, patients with breast cancer are typically tested to see if they carry the HER2 gene, which can play a role in causing breast cancer cells to grow. Medications, delivered in pill or IV form, either destroy cancer cells or stop the cancer from continuing to grow. “With genetic testing, we can find out which medicines to use and which ones not to use.”
“There could be five or six gene processes that turn a cancer on or off,” Budds says. That allows clinicians to administer medication that targets the genes that are causing the cancer.
A tumor or blood sample is tested to identify a genetic profile. Oncologists use targeted therapies, also known as precision medicine, to tailor medications for each individual patient and cancer. Today, thanks to combination immunotherapies, the majority of patients with metastatic melanoma are alive and doing well at least one year later - and many are living many years beyond that. Five years ago, overall survival for a person diagnosed with metastatic melanoma (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) was about nine months.
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For example, immunotherapy has redefined how doctors are treating melanoma, the most dangerous and deadly form of skin cancer. Immunotherapies are administered through an IV infusion.Īnd immunotherapy gives some patients with late-stage cancers a treatment option they previously didn’t have, sometimes allowing them to live longer than they would have been expected to live otherwise. Some patients, though, may experience side effects, depending on the drug administered and the type of cancer being treated. Most of the time, they experience minimal side effects, if any.”
“Immunotherapy has definitely opened up more options for a lot of patients, and it is now the frontline treatment for certain patients,” Batus says. Researchers continue to look into the potential of immunotherapy, but several effective, FDA-approved drugs are now commonly used to treat certain cancers. Immunotherapy treatments can work across different cancer types and may be effective in treating even the most advanced and hard-to-treat cancers. Immunotherapy, a relatively newer type of cancer treatment, uses medications to rev up the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer. VATS uses smaller incisions than open surgery and typically offers patients less pain, shorter hospital stays after surgery and fewer complications. For example, thoracic surgeons at RUSH often use video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive procedure, to remove early stage lung cancer tumors. “The role of surgery has expanded, and it’s very encouraging.”ĭepending on the cancer and the stage, minimally invasive surgery may be an option. “Our options for treating cancer - even at later stages - have grown, and surgery is a big part of that,” Budds says. “While it depends on the size of the tumor and other factors, many patients with stage 1 cancers don't need any other treatment except for surgery,” says Marta Batus, MD, a medical oncologist at RUSH.Īnd surgery can play a role in cancer treatment even when a tumor has spread beyond its original site. It is an especially effective treatment for early stage cancers that haven’t spread to other parts of the body. Surgery is an option for most cancers other than blood cancers, with specialized cancer surgeons attempting to remove all or most of a solid tumor. Thanks to new treatments and advances in personalized care, oncologists are now better able to tailor cancer treatment to each individual patient and the type of cancer they have. In fact, sometimes chemo takes a back seat to other treatments that may have milder side effects. “These days, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to mean chemo - and the nausea, vomiting and hair loss most people think of,” says Susan Budds, NP, a nurse practitioner who specializes in cancer at RUSH. But chemo is not always the first course of treatment. What are some words you associate with cancer? Chances are “ chemotherapy” is one of the first that comes to mind.
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