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What Exactly Is Whole Body Hyperthermia?

  Hyperthermia as a means for health treatment has been used for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian physicians treated their patients by placing them in hot sand. Later, thousands of years after the Egyptians, Greco-Roman physicians used hot tub saunas to provide heat treatments.

How Heat Therapy Works All mammals want to stay at normal body temperature of 37*C. If we get cold our bodies shiver and when we get hot our bodies sweat. In response to a cold or flu infection, our bodies develop a fever that helps to raise our body temperature which in turn kills the virus and/or bacteria. As a result, then we begin to heal. Our body can generate self healing fever temperatures close to 40*C. However, to kill more resistant infections such as HIV, Hepatitis and even cancer neoplasms, temperatures above 42*C to 44*C are suggested. While using medical safeguards to prevent complications, hyperthermia along with radiation and / or chemotherapy significantly increases cancer kill rates.

Types of Heat Therapy
Currently, there are several methods such as local, regional and whole body hyperthermia
Local Hyperthermia-Some cancer tumors stay localized and the lump can be removed with surgery or ablation. Then the local surrounding area is repeatedly heated using microwaves, magnets, or nano-particles while chemotherapy and radiation is applied.
Regional Hyperthermia-Other cancers focus on certain organs in body cavities like the pancreas which is located in the peritoneal cavity. Multiple skin lesions require isolated limb hyperthermia. Both procedures follow similar methods of surgery and thermo-chemotherapy and /or radiation treatments.
Whole Body Hyperthermia-Since it is unknown if cancer will metastasize, treating the whole body from head to toe provides a possible solution to multiple surgeries and additional hazardous exposure to chemo / radio toxins. Whole Body heating from the outside to the tumor on the inside using hot wax, water or air has many problems in safely reaching therapeutic temperatures. Since all cancer cells have a very fragile blood supply network, providing hyperthermia from the inside through the blood is very efficient. These types of perfusion body temperature / life support modalities are used in heart surgery thousands of times everyday.

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How can Hyperthermia Therapy Help with Cancer?

Hyperthermia is a type of treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures (up to 113ºF), to damage and kill cancer cells, or to make cancer cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation and certain anticancer drugs. Local hyperthermia treatment (heat applied to a very small area, such as a tumor) is a well-established cancer treatment method with a simple basic principle: If a rise in temperature to 106ºF can be obtained for one hour within a cancer tumor, the cancer cells will be destroyed. Primary malignant tumors have a bad blood circulation, which make them more sensitive to changes in temperature. In local hyperthermia, heat is applied to a small area, such as a tumor, using various techniques that deliver energy to heat the tumor. Different types of energy may be used to apply heat, including microwave, radiofrequency, and ultrasound. Depending on the tumor location, there are several approaches to local hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia & Cancer Facts

National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
Hyperthermia, a procedure in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures (up to 113 F), is under investigation to assess its effectiveness in the treatment of cancer. Scientists think that heat may help shrink tumors by damaging cells or depriving them of substances they need to live. They are studying local, regional, and whole-body hyperthermia, using external and internal heating devices. Hyperthermia is almost always used with other forms of therapy (radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapy) to try to increase their effectiveness.

It is known that heating areas of the body that contain a cancer, or heating the tumor itself, may help to kill cancer cells. This treatment exposes the body tissue to high temperatures, between 40°-45°C (104º-113ºF), without harming surrounding healthy tissue. The normal body temperature is 37°C (98.6 ºF).

Local Hyperthermia treatment is primarily used to treat cancer that is localized in one part of the body. Giving hyperthermia treatment in combination with non-toxic cancer therapies, chemotherapy drugs or radiotherapy, or with any combination of these modalities, may help to improve the effect of the treatments.

Hyperthermia is suitable for breast cancer that has come back in the breast area (local recurrence).

How Does Hyperthermia Treatment work?

Hyperthermia treatment destroys cancer cells by raising the tumor temperature. This is similar to the way the body uses fever to fight infection. When normal body tissue is heated the blood vessels open up (dilate) to allow the blood to flow more freely. This helps to cool down the area and prevent damage. The blood supply to cancer cells is different. The blood vessels cannot dilate as well and blood flow is generally slower. When heat is applied to a cancer, the cells are less able to cool down and are more likely to be damaged by the high temperature. The effect of the heat damages to the cancer cells and can deprive them of the nutrients they need to survive.

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Where can I find More Information on Hyperthermia?

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/hyperthermia

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Is this a New Science?

Hyperthermia has been around since the '80's.  It is used in many clinical settings and has received great results.

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Is It Covered By Insurance?

Currently Hyperthermia is covered by insurance under the direction of your Oncologist/Radiologist.  However, TaMeri, Inc is developing programs that will help clients to receive services at an affordable price.

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