Hyperthermia with radiotherapy

[joanna]

Hello, everyone!
I found out this website some time ago, but this is my first post here because I'm not skilled in English and I feel a bit ashamed. I'm Italian, I live in Italy and I'm taking care of my sister. She was diagnosed in 2010, and in 2012, she became HER2 positive, Stage IV with bone metastases: she even had a total femur replacement. Last pet and MRI showed that now bone metastases have spread pretty wide, so the oncologist switched her to Xeloda+Tykerb. She will undergo radiotherapy, too, and that is the point. I've read some articles about a treatment called hyperthermia, combined with radiotherapy for a better outcome. I'd like to ask if there's someone who heard about that treatment.
I also would like to say that I'm supporting my sister better thanks to this site, so I'm heartily grateful to its founders and members.

[MaineRottweilers]

I have no such experience. I just wanted to let you know that you and your sister are in my prayers. I hope someone will weigh in for you with their experience.

....and your English is beautiful. Your grammar is superior to native writers by far. You should be proud to show it off, keep on posting

[BrendaB]

The doctors were considering hyperthermia plus radiation for me, after the cancer came back. However, due to needing a skin graft on my chest, they decided it wouldn't work to radiate that. Apparently hyperthermia treatments were more common a decade or so ago, and now the machines are too costly to keep going, what with other procedures being done, so a lot of hospitals let them go. The Cancer Treatment Centers in Philadelphia PA and Cleveland Oh still use them, I think. Best of luck to your sister; both of you will be in my prayers.

[Jackie07]

HI,

Found this abstract from the PubMed Database. You probably can get the full-text article from the clinic/hosp
ital and discuss it with your sister's doctors.

J Cancer. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24959300#) 2014 May 29;5(6):472-9. doi: 10.7150/jca.8693. eCollection 2014.
Perspectives of breast cancer thermotherapies.

Alphandéry E (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Alphand%C3%A9ry%20E%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=24959300).
Author information (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24959300#)


1. Nanobacterie SARL, 36 boulevard Flandrin, 75116, Paris, France. ; 2. Institut de Minéralogie et de Physique des Milieux Condensés, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France.
Abstract

In this article, the use of different types of thermotherapies to treat breast cancer is reviewed. While hyperthermia is most commonly used as an adjuvant in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or cryotherapy to enhance the therapeutic effect of these therapies, thermoablation is usually carried out alone to eradicate small breast tumors. A recently developed thermotherapy, called magnetic hyperthermia, which involves localized heating of nanoparticles under the application of an alternating magnetic field, is also presented. The advantages and drawbacks of these different thermotherapies are highlighted.

[joanna]

Thank you ladies for your responses.

MaineRottweilers, thanks for encouraging me with my English, and for cheering up my sister and me!

BrendaB, I checked the Centers you mentioned in your post. The one in Philadelphia introduces hyperthermia as "a promising option for patients with advanced or recurrent cancer"; as for the Cleveland Center, they think that "by adding hyperthermia to radiation therapy, radiation oncologists can increase tumor control". I think that both statements are encouraging, despite the fact that this option seems to be fallen a bit into disuse.
However, I'm glad that the other treatments that you underwent have turned out to be very useful for you.

Jackie, I find the article that you posted very interesting. I've understood almost all of it, though different kinds of hyperthermia were described in a technical language. My sister said that it's worth to give it a try, when I read it to her (she doesn't speak English). She sent it to her doctor, so next week we will discuss it with him. In the meanwhile, I will search for treatment centers here in Italy.

Thank you for your helpful adivices!