Immunotherapy is a significant innovation in cancer treatment, using your body’s immune system to fight cancer – just as your body fights other illnesses. Generally, your body fights disease or infection by attacking the cells that are disrupting your health. But your immune system may not recognize cancer cells as harmful, or cancer cells may develop ways to inactivate immune cells. Immunotherapy is a biologic therapy that boosts your immune system to fight cancer more powerfully with various benefits, including:
- Exclusively target cancer cells without harming healthy tissue
- Personalized and precise cancer treatment
- Prepare for detection of new cancer activity
- Use the immune system’s memory to target cancer recurrence
While research and discovery continue for cancer-fighting therapies, immunotherapy has shown significant progress for many cancers. Immunotherapy may be used alone or together with other standard cancer treatments – and can even bolster other therapies – such as radiation, chemotherapy or surgery.
Research and discovery advance immunotherapy benefits
Our Riverside cancer team works in partnership with nationally recognized health systems, including Moffitt Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson and the Ohio State University to move the benefits of immunotherapy forward. Together, we are investigating a new type of immunotherapy to restore the immune system’s ability to fight malignant tumors. At Riverside, research and discovery continue to help our patients in their fight against cancer – every day.
Types of cancers treated with immunotherapy
When you come to Riverside Health for your cancer care, you will have the experience and expertise of an entire team fighting for you. With a multidisciplinary team approach, your team will provide expertise in diagnosing cancer and the optimal treatment for your type and stage of cancer. Immunotherapy is used at Riverside for the treatment of many types of cancer, including:
- Bladder cancer
- Brain cancer
- Breast cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Head and neck cancers
- Kidney cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Melanoma
- Ovarian cancer
- Prostate cancer
Your cancer treatment decisions will be made with the strength of Riverside’s team of cancer specialists, meaning you will benefit from the knowledge of many cancer experts. The decision for immunotherapy treatment – or any combination of cancer treatments - will depend on your type of cancer, how advanced your cancer is and how your body responds and reacts to any cancer treatment. We’ll monitor your care carefully and together determine the optimal treatment plan for you at every phase of care.
Learn more about immunotherapy at Riverside
If you or your loved one is fighting cancer, learn more about our cancer services, immunotherapy at Riverside or contact one of our cancer care team members.