Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment used in killing cancer by heating tumors. The heating feels about as warm as a hot tub. Research has shown that heat can damage or kill cancer cells in some tumors while also making radiation therapy more effective in treating some tumors that are "recurrent" or "progressive" despite conventional therapy, which occurs in 50% of all cancer patients resulting in death.

While it has been widely known for hundreds of years that even the heat of fevers can kill cancer, only recently has technology been developed that we can control and focus cancer killing heat specifically on tunors. This technology is found in the Hyperthermia Treatments Systems of Saint Joseph Medical Center.

Our State of the Art Hyperthermia Used to Treat Your Cancer

There are 2 main ways in which hyperthermia can be used:

• Very high temperatures can be used to destroy a small area of cells, such as a tumor. This is commonly referred to as local hyperthermia or thermal ablation.
• The temperature of a part of the body can be raised to a higher than normal level. Although it isn't hot enough to kill the normal cells, it can kill cancer and allow other types of cancer treatments (radiation therapy or even conventional chemotherapy) to work better. This is known as either regional hyperthermia or specific tumor area hyperthermia.

Local hyperthermia (or thermal ablation) is used to heat a very small area, such as a tumor. This involves creating very high temperatures that destroy (ablate) the cells that are heated. Radio waves, microwaves, ultrasound waves, or other forms of energy can be used to heat the area. The heat is normally applied externally which uses high energy waves that are aimed at a tumor near the body surface from a high technology theraputic source outside the patients body.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is probably the most commonly used type of local hyperthermia. It uses high-energy radio waves for treatment and is placed next to the tumor for a short time. Placement of this therapy is guided by ultrasound or CT scans. The treatment head releases a high-frequency current that creates heat (best between 110 and 116°F) and destroys the cancer cells. RFA is sometimes used to treat tumors in the liver, and is being used in several other areas of the body by advanced cancer institutes or cancer treatment clinics.

Another approach to regional hyperthermia uses devices that are placed on the surface of the organ or body cavity and produce high energy waves directed at a specific area. These devices give off electromagnetic energy or ultrasound waves to heat the area being treated.

The Wonderful Benefits of Hyperthermia You Will Recieve at Saint Joseph Medical Center

The main advantage of hyperthermia is that it is non-invasive and seems to make other forms of cancer treatment work much better. By heating cancer cells to temperatures above normal (up to as high as 110°F) makes them easier to destroy using certain natural or chemotherapy drugs. Saint Joseph Medical Center's natural cancer killing therapy we find gives best results to the patient.

The most notable scientists agree that hyperthermia works best when the cancer area being treated is kept within an exact temperature range for a certain period of time, there by keeping an area at a constant temperature without affecting nearby tissues. Not all body tissues respond the same way to heat -- some are more sensitive than others. So monitoring the temperature at a specific site within the body is always done, to be sure the temperature always stays within the desired cancer killing range.

Hyperthermia is the most promising way to improve your cancer treatment. Many clinical trials of hyperthermia are now being done to try to find new ways to use this technique. Current studies are looking at its usefulness in treating many types of cancer, including the following:

• breast
• cervical
• colorectal (spread to liver)
• endometrial
• kidney
• liver
• lung
• ovarian
• pancreas
• prostate
• sarcomas (soft tissue cancers)
• thyroid

The Most Serious Types of Tumors are Treatable by
Hyperthermia at Saint Joseph Medical Center

• Adenocarcinoma
• Carcinoma
• Thymoma
• Squamous Cell
• Mesothelioma
• Sarcoma
• Melanoma
• Lymphoma
• Basal Cell

Hyperthermia Enhances Results of Our Cancer Treatments

At Saint Joseph Medical Center, many of our patient referrals come from physicians who are convinced by similar medical evidence that when hyperthermia is used in combination with natural or conventional cancer treatment, there is a two to threefold increase in favorable response rates.

Hyperthermia is quite effective on its own against cancer, however, a large body of medical evidence shows that when hyperthermia is used in combination with natural or conventional cancer treatment, there is a dramatic improvement in response rates.

A recent study comparing results from leading hyperthermia researchers showed that beneficial responses of patients rose to 67% when natural cancer therapy was combined with hyperthermia.

Effective Areas of Hyperthermia Treatment

Saint Joseph Medical Center's state-of-the-art facility treats all tumors. Most are in difficult-to-reach sites that have not responded well to other treatment methods before coming to Saint Joseph Medical Center.

• Brain
• Bone
• Throat
• Thyroid
• Lungs
• Breast
• Liver
• Pancreas
• Colon
• Ovaries
• Uterus
• Prostate
• Skin
• other anatomical sites

Hyperthermia at Saint Joseph Medical Center Results in Substantial Pain Reduction to You

For many patients, battling cancer has also meant fighting constant pain, or relying on strong narcotics like demerol or morphine derivatives. Hyperthermia is an exellent alternative to the use of this addictive drugs. Not only it is an effective cancer treatment, but it often dramatically reduces pain wich allows for better quality of life. Subsequently, this enables many people to devote more energy to their fight against cancer.

How Our Hyperthermia Therapy Kills Cancer

The Saint Joseph Medical Center Hyperthermia System delivers therapeutic heat (hyperthermia) to certain surface or subsurface malignant tumors (i.e., melanoma, squamous-or basal-cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or sarcoma) by the external or interstitial application of electro-magnetic energy, and monitors the temperature of target and surrounding tissues by means of temperature measurments. In response to an operator-designated control probe.

Tissue reaction to electromagnetic energy causes heating by molecular motion. Living tissue loses accumulated thermal energy principally through blood perfusing the tissue. Malignant tumors of significant size have less blood perfusion than surrounding normal tissue. For a given absorbed thermal dose, the reduced ability to dissipate heat causes tumor tissue to reach higher temperatures than normal tissue. Therefore, absorbed electromagnetic radiation will preferentially heat tumors present in normal tissue and cause them to reach higher temperatures than the normal surrounding tissue. Tumors heated repeatedly to higher temperatures (hyperthermia) for times approaching an hour sometimes exhibit regression and necrosis [Song, C.W., ?Physiological Factors in Hyperthermia of Tumors? in Physical Aspects of Hyperthermia, G.H. Nussbaum, ed. American Institute of Physics (American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Medical Physics Monograph No. 8). New York, NY: 1982, p.43].

Hyperthermia is Perfect for Your Treatment!

Hyperthermia has been approved by the FDA for use alone or in conjunction with other therapies in the palliative management of certain surface and subsurface malignant tumors (i.e., melanoma, squamous- or basal-cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or sarcoma) that are progressive or recurrent despite conventional therapy.

Our Comfortable Heat Kills Cancer

Extensive research and clinical trials have made hyperthermia therapy what it is today. Many clinical studies on hyperthermia and radiation therapy have been conducted and results have varied. These studies have shown complete tumor response rates (complete disappearance of tumor) ranging from 24.5% to 83.7% for the addition of hyperthermia to radiation.

In 2005, Duke University Medical Center published the results of a randomized clinical trial of hyperthermia and radiation therapy for the treatment of chest wall recurrence. Their results were published in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. They reported that previously irradiated patients had the greatest incremental gain of 68.2% in the radiation and hyperthermia therapy group.

Our Hyperthermia Means A Brighter Future for You.

Using focused radiofrequency or microwave energy, the tumor is heated to approximately 106F to 110F. Heat can kill cancer cells at levels that are safe for normal cells, and can be used to attack cancer in four major ways.

First, heat kills or weakens the cells of the tumor. Second, heat increases blood flow through the weakened tumor, which can allow therapies to permeate the tumor, not just attack it from the outside. Third, increased blood flow raises oxygen levels in tumors so that the cancer can be more effectively treated by radiation therapy. Fourth, when the body senses fever it stimulates the natural immune system, attacking the cancerous cells. For these reasons, hyperthermia is usually used in combination with conventional therapy.

The results create real hope. When coupled with already completed existing treatments or when you come to the wonderful healing facilities of Saint Joseph Medical Center and experience the all natural cancer killing treatments that, studies show hyperthermia therapy may double the success rate when compared to limiting the patient survivability by only using conventional therapy alone. Remember, results may vary from patient to patient.