Immunotherapy

This is a type of drug treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Different types of immunotherapy work in different ways. Some of these new drugs work by permitting the immune system to bypass “checkpoints” set up by the cancer that block the immune system.

Checkpoint immunotherapy is currently available in Australia for some types of cancer. It has worked well for some people, but it does not help everyone. Even if immunotherapy is recommended, it is difficult to predict whether it will work. New immunotherapy drugs are being rapidly developed – talk to your doctor about whether any are suitable for you.

Side effects

The side effects of immunotherapy drugs are different from those caused by chemotherapy. Immunotherapy can cause inflammation in different parts of the body, for example, in the lungs (causing shortness of breath), bowel (causing diarrhoea) or thyroid gland (leading to abnormal thyroid hormone levels).

I was told that this new immunotherapy treatment was having great success with metastatic melanoma. The oncologist explained that there could be side effects. After the third infusion, I woke up with my heart going all over the place. The drug had drained my thyroid completely and I had to be cardio-averted to get the heart back to sinus rhythm.

Annabelle