Dr Manish Singhal - The best Cancer Specialist in Delhi
5 Questions to ask your doctor before opting for Immunotherapy!
With the best cancer doctors in Delhi NCR, Cancer Consultant India is a glimmer of hope for the ones suffering from cancer. Recommended by a lot of cancer specialists here, Immunotherapy is a standard treatment option. What is Immunotherapy? It is a method to stimulate a patient’s immune system to fight the killer cancer cells. Although cancer doctors are still researching this technique as it doesn’t work for all forms of cancer. However, the best cancer doctors don’t suggest Immunotherapy alone; they recommend it with a mix of medications and some chemotherapy. Before you go ahead with whatever treatment, you should ask your cancer specialist some of these questions
Firstly, is it safe?
It is believed to be safer in comparison to chemotherapy as it does not involve radiation. But as it goes with all harsh treatments, it comes with serious risks. The side effects range from skin reactions around needle-site to flu-like symptoms and allergic reactions.
How does it work?
Similar to other cancer therapies, Immunotherapy entirely depends upon the type and level of cancer the patient is suffering from. Different cancer doctors across Delhi, have been known to give it via various options like; IV, oral, derma, or intravesical. Depending upon your condition, your therapy might be a daily or weekly medicine intake. The best cancer doctors say, someone should always accompany you to and from the appointments, as you might be weak.
Are you supposed to join a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are medical experiments. Only you and your doctor can decide if you need one, and if you do learn this;
- Background of the doctor you’ll be working with,
- Risks associated with the trial,
- Successes, if any,
- Types of drugs used,
- Duration of the cancer treatment,
- Costs and if your health insurance covers it or not.
What if it doesn’t work?
Dr. Manish Singhal is one of the best cancer specialists in Delhi and Noida; he says at Cancer Consultant India, the patients are monitored closely. If a patient doesn’t respond to Immunotherapy, he/she is first treated with a mixture of other treatments and medicines. If the doctors deem fit, they are taken off the therapy and suggested more rigorous methods of cancer treatment.
Can cancer resurface after successful Immunotherapy?
- Everyone is unique and responds differently to Immunotherapy. However, research shows that certain forms of cancer like ovarian are prevented from coming back after the cancer treatment.
- Cancer doctors follow a strict pattern of cancer treatment with a code. They cannot recommend an advanced clinical trial before treating the patient with traditional options like chemotherapy and medications, as at a lot of places Immunotherapy is still in an experimental stage.
A lot of people confuse Immunotherapy with chemo, but the two are on different ends of the cancer treatment spectrum.
Immunotherapy vs Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy focuses on cancerous tumors by killing the rapidly-growing cancer cells by drugs. Immunotherapy, on the other hand, improves and strengthens one’s immune system to help it fight and detect these killer cells.
Cancer specialists have said time and again that these two methods follow a very different approach from each other to fight cancer.
Both of these treatments have different side effects. Chemo deletes all doubling cells, cancerous or non-cancerous like hair follicles, which is why hair loss is common, as told by cancer doctors. A lot of immunotherapy patients don’t witness these adverse events, but some that do shouldn’t ignore them as they can be life-threatening.
Cancer immunotherapy can be personalized to a person’s tumor biology.
While chemotherapy treatment only lasts until the medicine stays in your system, immunotherapy results last longer. This is one of the reasons why a lot of cancer doctors in Delhi, suggest a combination of the two.
Cancer is a dangerous disease, one that requires careful decisions. A patient should consult with their cancer specialists the cancer treatment they’d be requiring and should choose.Dr. Manish Singhal, along with the best cancer doctors in Delhi NCR, works to make the lives of cancer patients better by providing excellent services at Cancer Consultant India.