Cancer is a very critical terminally ill disease, and immunotherapy has become the standard care for some types of this sickness. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to kill and attack cancer cells. But immunotherapy for cancer is not effective in all varieties of the disease. Researchers and doctors are still fighting hard to discover the medicines to fight the illness so that the patients can benefit from it. Here we have discussed some questions to ask your physician to have a better knowledge about Immunotherapy.

How does immunotherapy operate?

Immunotherapy helps to grow your immune system to fight against cancer.

Is immunotherapy Treatment safe?

In many cases, immunotherapy for cancer is better and safer than radiation and chemotherapy. But like most cancer treatments, it also includes some risks. Some of the common side effects of this therapy are skin rashes, flu, diarrhea, and fatigue. It might also cause fatal or severe allergic reactions in the patients.

How to distinguish Immunotherapy clinical trials from other treatments?

Most of the medicines for immunotherapy are still under research or in the clinical trial phase. There is still approval from the FDA yet. So, if you want to get these medicines, you have to participate in the clinical trials voluntarily. Before openly prescribing for the medicines, the latter should get tested well on the volunteers. It will help figure out how well the medicines are working and what will be best for the patients. If the volunteers do not have any reaction and the medicines have the best effect on them, then FDA will consider it for approval.

Are there different kinds of immunotherapy?

Yes, there are different types of immunotherapy treatment. The most common drugs are called checkpoint inhibitors. A doctor uses these checkpoint inhibitors to treat various stages of cancer in the lungs, bladder, skin, kidney, brain, and liver. But 20 to 40% of patients can get cured by this therapy. CART cell therapy, vaccines, and oncolytic viruses also get used by doctors in immunotherapy.

What happens when the treatment is going on?

Immunotherapy for cancer is just another form of treatment for the disease. If you want to go through this treatment, visit a doctor’s chamber or hospital. Based on the medicines, it can be

• IV or Intravenous where the medicine will enter into vain with the help of an IV

• Oral where you have to swallow a pill or a capsule

• Topical is a cream that you can use on your skin

• Intravesical through which the medicine will go directly into the bladder

Based on the immunotherapy treatment, you have to visit the hospital every week, day or month.

What are the advantages of immunotherapy treatment?

Many cancer treatments like chemotherapy can stop working because the cancerous cell can develop a resistance to them. But for the past few years, patients are getting good responses among the patients. It also prevents some cancers like ovarian from coming back again. Researchers are still searching for vaccines that will work on cancers in the breast and prevent the cancerous cells from coming back.

How much time does Immunotherapy take to work?

Immunotherapy might take longer to work on the patients compared to other forms of cancer treatments. This therapy might extend your life tenure, and to some extent cures cancer. It also depends on the patient’s condition. You should communicate with your doctor first and be clear about all the treatment options before making a final decision.

What will happen if immunotherapy does not work?

The doctor and the entire medical team will watch you closely during the therapy. If the treatment does not show the desired result, then your doctor will opt for other alternatives. It might be various other forms of immunotherapy or other conventional cancer radiation like chemotherapy.

Can Immunotherapy be clubbed with other forms of treatment?

Sometimes immunotherapy gets used after radiation or chemotherapy. In most cases, this situation arises as the previous ones did not work. In the case of advanced-stage cancer, a doctor might suggest immunotherapy as the first option. Sometimes the oncologists also club immunotherapy for cancer with other traditional treatments.