Comprehensive care for cancer treatment

 

To ensure that patients receive the most comprehensive and effective treatment, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Virote tells us that interprofessional specialists come to work together applying cutting-edge technology that meets international standards of treatment including robotic Surgery, MRI, and the first proton irradiation machine in Southeast Asia that provides precision targeting of cancer, and reduces the spread of radiation to other organs thus reducing the side effects from radiation treatment.   

The center also provides care for its patients in other ways such as offering advice from the beginning until the completion of cancer treatment, promoting health and wellness during the treatment, or following up on the patient’s condition after the treatment.  It also pays attention to matters related to healthcare access to allow patients the right to avail of treatment without being burdened by the cost of the treatment.  

Research on cancer medication boosts patients’ hope

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Virote there are currently 3 types of medications each of which has different effects on cancer patients: red gems

1. Chemotherapy helps to alleviate symptoms, decreasing cancer cells at moderate costs. They are also moderately effective but can result in strong side effects.   
2. Targeted Therapy is effective at treating specific targets. The medication works specifically to halt cancer mutation and is specifically effective in patients whose mutation corresponds with the therapy. Side effects are not as bad as what takes place in Chemotherapy.  
3. And the third type which is attracting a lot of attention and giving much hope to cancer patients is immunotherapy which is successful in unlocking the hidden cancer cells to allow the body’s immune system to eliminate them. The treatment does not apply to specific types of cancer and patients mostly report only mild side effects.

“At present, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and our Excellence Center are working on research to develop immunotherapy for cancer treatment. We are concentrating on three methods:  T-cell therapy, cancer vaccines, and antibody treatment, each with its strengths. They can be used together or with other cancer treatments to enhance efficiency. We are now at the stage of researching the treatment with cancer patients to be able to test it on a larger scale” explained Assoc. Prof. Dr. Virote.