It’s crucial for patients to understand their treatment choices and how that might affect their experiences and results, even if they always consult their health care providers. Immunotherapy has the potential to assist cancer patients.
What is immunotherapy?
In cancer immunotherapy, the patient’s immune system is given tools to attack the disease independently. There are several ways in which immunotherapy may be used, including encouraging the body’s natural defenses, such as the immune system, to detect, target, and eradicate cancer cells.
It is possible to use immunotherapy as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other cancer therapies. Since the first chemotherapies were established in the 1940s, it has already been a beneficial therapy for patients with many forms of cancer.
What is chemotherapy?
Cancer cells are killed directly during chemotherapy, often abbreviated as “chemo” by patients. Chemotherapy can successfully target quickly developing tumors because it affects all rapidly proliferating cells in the body. It may be effective when chemotherapy is done alone or in conjunction with other treatments such as surgery or radiation.
So what’s the difference?
As opposed to chemotherapy, immunotherapy targets the patient’s immune system instead of the malignant tumors themselves. There are several immunotherapy treatments that may help the body’s immune system recognize and eliminate cancer cells.
Symptoms of both immunotherapy and chemotherapy
Chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells in the body, both malignant and non-cancerous ones, including those in hair follicles and the lining of the stomach, to kill cancerous tumors. Chemotherapy’s well-known side effects, including hair loss and nausea, may be caused in part by its assaults on healthy cells.
An immune response that has been overstimulated or misdirected by immunotherapy may have adverse effects that vary from mild to moderate or severe and could be life-threatening in certain cases.
Conclusion
Cancer is treated with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, two different pharmacological treatments. Immunotherapy aims to enhance the body’s ability to fight cancer by enhancing the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy directly affects cancer cells’ capacity to reproduce. You may contact Dr. Ashish Pokharkar for the best advice and treatment.
