Cancer has been called the silent killer, on average there are 20 million new cancer cases and 9.8 million deaths yearly.
An estimated 7% of the world's population currently suffers from cancer. Around 1 in 5 people will develop cancer during their lifetime, and approximately 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women will be killed by the disease.
Those are heartbreaking statistics, but new hopes are emerging on the horizon!
Thanks to the ongoing forward march of science, a new cancer treatment technology appears almost every year! The standard chemotherapy has been joined by promising newer treatments like immunotherapy and hormone therapy that are helping to stem the tide of suffering and death that cancer inflicts upon us.
One recent new treatment that the medical community is very optimistic about is hyperthermia, which uses heat therapy to slow the growth of, and even kill cancer cells and tumours! Let's learn more about this valuable new weapon in the war against cancer!
The hyperthermia treatment is still undergoing clinical testing, but so far the results are excellent! There are currently three types of hyperthermia being worked with:
Local Hyperthermia Therapy - When applying local hyperthermia therapy heat is targeted at a small area of cancerous tissue like a tumour.
This heat is produced by a variety of energy sources such as ultrasound waves, radio waves, or electromagnetic waves. The use of local hyperthermia therapy is recommended for:
- Tumours in small cavities in the body.
- Small tumours found in, or just beneath the skin.
- Tumours that are placed too deep in the body for surgery.
The following are some of the different types of local hyperthermia therapy:
- Laser interstitial thermal therapy, or LITT, is targeted at deep brain tumours.
- Radiofrequency ablation, or RFA, which targets tumours in the kidneys, liver, and lungs.
- Regional Hyperthermia Therapy - Regional hyperthermia therapy can target larger areas of the body. Physicians use this therapy to treat those tumours that are found in organs, limbs, or body cavities. It is often used in combination with chemotherapy. The treatment takes these forms:
- Deep Tissue Therapy - High-energy waves are aimed from outside the body at the organs in a cavity, like the cervix, or bladder.
- Regional Perfusion - An entire limb or cavity is filled with hyperthermic heat. The physician might remove some blood, heat it, and then place it back in the body. Regional perfusion is used to treat cancers like melanomas (skin cancer) and sarcomas (bone or soft tissue cancer).
Hyperthermia Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, or HIPEC - This treats cancers found in the peritoneal cavity, the part of the abdomen that contains the intestines, liver, and stomach. The process involves the physician heating the chemotherapy and pumping it into the abdomen.
- Whole-body Hyperthermia Therapy - This is used to treat cancer that metastasizes (spreads) throughout the entire body. The physician may use a heated blanket, incubator or a warm water bath to spread the heat to fight the cancer cells.
These new hyperthermia Treatments are giving hope to many cancer patients, and they are on course to save lives!
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