The Drs TV: Cancer Breakthrough
On The Doctors, Dr. Travis Stork explained that there is a breakthrough therapy shining light on a cancer that is otherwise invisible to treating physicians. It’s so hard to find that scans can actually read clear, even when tumors are present. A research study conducted at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, resulted in a way to make invisible cancers visible, with the use of a special dye that has been used for other medical procedures.
The Doctors discussed breakthrough technology that helps doctors find cancer that would otherwise be invisible. (Bork / Shutterstock.com)
The dye has been engineered to accumulate in lung cancer cells and light up green under infrared light. It actually makes tumors glow. Dr. Sunil Singhal with University of Pennsylvania medicine, said it will change the way we find cancers, giving us the ability to see things we’ve never been able to see before.
One woman named Francie was a lifelong smoker and participated in the study, which found cancer in her lungs that would have otherwise been undetectable. Francie joined The Doctors on the show to share that she doesn’t even need chemotherapy and radiation. She said she’s 110% less than two months after her surgery to remove the cancer.
The Doctors: New Technology Detects Invisible Cancer
Dr. Singhal joined the show via Polycom and explained that the biggest problem he faced was making sure they got the entire cancer out. He said as a cancer surgeon, one out of every three times he will miss something. So they’ve been working on a way to make tumors glow in people. Dr. Singhal said this is the future of surgery, because if they can catch cancer cells before you can even see them on an X-ray, it will change how we deal with cancer for everyone.
Dr. Rachael Ross explained that when they say metastasis, what they mean is that tiny cells of the cancer have spread to somewhere else. So the ability to make the tumors glow is “really huge.”
Francie also shared that she has quit smoking, which wasn’t as hard as she thought. She shared that she made notes on the outside of her pack of cigarettes, when she smoked, in order to track when it happened. She also shared that her husband quit smoking while she was in the hospital. Dr. Stork said taking your health into your own hands and doing something like quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health.
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