Immunotherapy cancer treatments are useful for activating the natural immune system to target, fight, and destroy mutated cancer cells. Several drug therapies can come under immunotherapy, and they use different methods to stop the rapid proliferation of cancerous cells. If you are a cancer patient and your oncologist has recommended immunotherapy, you should get detailed information about the procedure and its possible side effects and risks.

Immunotherapy to treat cancer

The immune system includes lymph nodes that contain clusters of immune cells like B and T lymphocytes that can detect and get rid of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other foreign substances in the body. The receptor proteins on the immune cells help them distinguish between healthy cells and foreign bodies. Due to that, the immune system will not destroy healthy cells in the usual scheme of things. Since cancer cells are a mutation of normal cells, the immune system may fail to detect them as harmful, and the cells will continue to grow unchecked and spread throughout the body.

Immunotherapy cancer treatments can counter this by triggering an immune response against these cancer cells. The three categories of immunotherapy are:

• Checkpoint inhibitors: The checkpoint inhibitors disrupt the signals that cancer cells emit to escape detection by the immune system. The signal disruption exposes the cancer cells as harmful cells, and this exposure can trigger an immune response against them.

• CAR T-cell therapy: In this therapy, technicians will modify the T cells in the laboratory, expanding them, and then infuse them into the body. The modified T cells then identify, bind, and kill the cancer cells.

• Cancer vaccines: Such vaccines offer protection by attacking cancer-causing viruses or stimulating the immune system against cancerous cells.

Immunotherapy options

The oncologist will assess your overall health condition and customize immunotherapy cancer treatment options to work on your cancer type. They will monitor how you react to the immunotherapy and adjust the treatment to expand the benefits and reduce the risks. They may also decide to combine it with other cancer treatments to bring you more relief.

Side effects of immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is generally effective in treating cancers, and there are several case studies about how it has even eliminated tumors in some patients with advanced-stage cancers. However, it may come with certain risks based on the patient’s general health, the type of cancer, early or advanced-stage cancer, the type of immunotherapy used to combat cancer, and the given drug dosage. The drugs used in immunotherapy cancer treatments to stimulate the immune system can sometimes cause it to mistake healthy cells as foreign intruders and attack them. There may be mild, moderate, or severe side effects.

The side effects may lessen in severity or vanish with subsequent treatments. Some people, however, may develop allergies or resistance to immunotherapy. In some cases, there may be life-threatening complications. It is essential to discuss the health risks with your doctor before undergoing immunotherapy and remain vigilant when receiving it.

Here are some examples of immunotherapy side effects:

• Skin itching, rashes, inflammation, and pain at the injection site in cancer patients receiving the immunotherapy drugs intravenously.

• Inflammation and other side effects in the liver, heart, lungs, colon, endocrine system, musculoskeletal system, and the central nervous system for cancer patients receiving checkpoint inhibitors.

• The cytokine release syndrome with symptoms like fever, rash, low blood pressure, fast heart rate, tremors, confusion, and neurologic problems for patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy.

• Other side effects include fatigue, weakness, headaches, muscle aches, fever, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, diarrhea, high blood pressure, and fluid buildup.

It may be possible to mitigate the side effects of immunotherapy by monitoring the effects that specific drugs have on individual patients. The oncologist can then adjust or alter the drugs and the dosages.

The immunotherapy treatments for cancers can be very expensive, and, if you are at risk of cancer, it is advisable to get a comprehensive cancer insurance plan early on to cover all the costs. If possible, you might also want to think ahead after the birth of your baby and create a future health safeguard for your family by investing in storing the umbilical cord blood at an affordable cord blood bank at $19.99/month.