"CANCER Treatments are...."
FGeneral information on other treatments:
This section contains information about other cancer treatments including:
* Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy which involves providing the body with extra oxygen and is sometimes used to treat a number of severe side effects of treatment for cancer.
** Hyperthermia treatment which destroys cancer cells by raising the tumour temperature.
*** Photodynamic therapy (PDT) which uses laser, or other light sources, combined with light-sensitive drugs to destroy cancer cells.
**** Radiofrequency ablation,which uses radiowaves to destroy cancer cells by heating them to high temperatures.
* Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a form of treatment which involves providing the body with extra oxygen. 'Hyper' means increased and 'baric' relates to pressure. Oxygen (O2) is one of the gases in the air that we breathe, and is essential for life. Normally, oxygen makes up just over one fifth (21%) of the air that we breathe.
In HBO therapy, pure oxygen is given to patients in chambers known as hyperbaric oxygen chambers. People can breathe this increased oxygen by sitting in the chamber and using a mask or hood.
Hyperbaric chambers first came into use in the 1880s and are used to treat some acute illnesses such as decompression sickness (the 'bends') in divers, carbon monoxide poisoning and air embolism.
** Hyperthermia treatment:
Hyperthermia means an abnormally high body temperature. It is thought that heating areas of the body that contain a cancer, or heating the tumour itself, may help to kill cancer cells. This treatment exposes the body tissue to high temperatures, between 40°–45°C (104º–113ºF), without harming surrounding healthy tissue. The normal body temperature is 37°C (98.6ºF).
Hyperthermia treatment is mostly used to treat cancer that is localised in one part of the body. Giving hyperthermia treatment in combination with chemotherapy drugs or radiotherapy, or with both, may help to improve the effect of these treatments.
*** Photodynamic therapy (PDT):
PDT uses laser, or other light sources, combined with a light-sensitive drug (sometimes called a photosensitising agent) to destroy cancer cells.
A photosensitising agent is a drug that makes cells more sensitive to light. Once in the body, the drug is attracted to cancer cells. It does not do anything until it is exposed to a particular type of light. When the light is directed at the area of the cancer, the drug is activated and the cancer cells are destroyed. Some healthy, normal cells in the body will also be affected by PDT, although these cells will usually heal after the treatment.
**** Radiofrequency ablation:
On the day of treatment you’ll have been asked not to eat anything for several hours beforehand. If you take any medicines you’ll usually be able to take them as normal. If you take drugs that can thin your blood such as aspirin or warfarin, your doctor will have given you instructions about when to stop taking these.
The treatment usually takes place in the operating theatre or hospital scanning department and takes from about 1–3 hours depending on the size and number of tumours being treated. It’s possible to have it done as an outpatient but most people will have an overnight stay in hospital. If you’re having the treatment as an outpatient you’ll need to arrange for someone to take you home as you won’t be able to drive for 24 hours afterwards.