How to Explore Hyperthermia to Treat Cancer

If you have advanced cancer or recurring tumors that don't seem to respond to chemotherapy, you may want to explore the option of using hyperthermia to treat your cancer. Hyperthermia is a relatively new experimental procedure that uses high temperatures to destroy or weaken cancer cells. Doctors hope hyperthermia can weaken cells enough to make them more susceptible to aggressive therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. Using hyperthermia to treat cancer does come with some risk of side effects, which may include nausea and vomiting.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Discuss hyperthermia with your doctor to find out if it would be an appropriate treatment for your cancer. Most patients who undergo hyperthermia have very advanced tumors, metastasized cancer or have previously undergone unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments.
2. Find out whether you're physically healthy enough to withstand the pressures of hyperthermia. Since the procedure may disrupt circulation, it's important for patients to have optimal heart health before beginning treatment. Doctors may recommend special diets or light exercise for patients with sub-par heart health who want to pursue hyperthermia.
3. Understand that hyperthermia may provide pain relief for particularly troublesome tumors after a few rounds of treatment, but most patients do not begin to experience positive effects until several weeks of treatment.
4. Ask your doctor whether you will be using hyperthermia with another type of cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy. Hyperthermia is occasionally used on its own, as it may directly kill cancer cells. However, in the majority of cases, it is used merely to weaken cancer cells before another type of therapy begins.
5. Explore your insurance policy to see if hyperthermia treatment is covered. Most insurance companies will cover hyperthermia if it is given as an in-patient treatment. Some companies, however, require hyperthermia to be used with another form of cancer therapy, like radiation.

Tips & Warnings

• You have the right to refuse to undergo any type of cancer treatment, including hyperthermia. If you decide, after careful examination of hyperthermia techniques, that it isn't your ideal treatment option, you are under no obligation to continue.
• Ask your doctor whether there are any steps you should take to prepare yourself before hyperthermia treatment. Let your doctor know about prescription medications, over the counter supplements, herbs or pain medication you are taking, as these may affect your physiological response to any type of treatment.
• It's normal to become confused and frustrated by the variety of cancer treatment options presented to you. The best course of action may be to explore your options with your doctor, who can give you the advantages and risks associated with each one.