IMMUNOTHERAPY

Hello! You might be wondering why there is another blog post in April? Well, we decided to squeeze in a very sought after topic: What is Immunotherapy? You can expect a regular entry to our FAQ’s series in May!

Immunotherapy (IT) is a somewhat novel approach to treat cancer.  The simplest way to describe immunotherapy is that by using novel medications, the human body is “trained” to identify and eliminate cancerous cells.  Before you run to the comments section to say there is more to this…yes, there is MUCH MORE to this.  Please allow me to elaborate.

As I mentioned previously, IT is a novel way to allow our own body to fight cancer.  These breakthroughs are magnificent, as they are getting us closer and closer to forgetting about toxic treatments like chemotherapy.

I like to “paint the following picture” to patients in order to better understand IT: Imagine our immune system has highly specialized cells that are our Navy SEAL team. These are the cells that identify and destroy cells that are foreign to our body (non-self in the immunology world). However, cancerous cells have developed ways to be almost invisible to these Navy SEALS. This is our big predicament…we have the means to destroy tumoral cells, but cancer cells have found ways to outsmart and elude our immune system.

Enter Immunotherapy

Monoclonal antibody therapy is a form of IT.  Think of Monoclonal antibodies, as a drone that dropped a “flag” on top of cancerous cells so that our immune system (Navy SEALS), can now identify these cells and kill them!  It may sound like science fiction, but it is true.

At Bajamed Group, we have this technology along with others that fall under the IT umbrella.  Please take a look at the following images that can give you a descriptive picture of some of the wonderful things our wonderfully talented (and empathetic!) medical team, can achieve.