Surviving AmericanSurviving
American Medicine
Doctors have been trying for 30 years to develop a chemotherapy sensitivity test to identify the most effective chemotherapy drugs for an individual patient. At the 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, my partner Dr. Linda Bosserman and I presented the results of a national study that showed a new test, the MiCK Drug Induced Apoptosis assay, was able to help physicians choose chemotherapy for individual breast cancer patients. When a doctor used the assay to plan therapy (73% of doctors did use the test), patients had a higher rate of cancer shrinkage, a higher rate of cancer control, and a longer time until the cancer began to regrow (www.diatech-oncology.com).
Other national studies previously published showed this test to also be helpful in acute leukemia, ovarian cancer and other malignancies.
A revolution in cancer care has resulted from the discovery of many new tests that can help oncologists to personalize cancer care by choosing more precise drugs that work better. Available throughout America, these tests include genetic, molecular, cellular, immunological, enzymatic and even radiologic assays.
If you have cancer, my tips for you are:
— Be certain you ask for a review of the biopsy that indicates you have cancer. Often the diagnosis may be in error, and a second opinion can identify more precisely which cancer is present, or even that the biopsy really shows no cancer
— Ask for all the tests necessary to be absolutely certain what is the stage of your cancer (is the tumor localized, or where has it spread to)
— Ask your doctor if there are tests that can help the physician choose the best therapy for you, personalizing your care.
If the doctor does not know of any, consider a second opinion from an expert who can help you
For more information about second opinions for cancer, see Chapter 15 Second Opinions in my new book Surviving American Medicine.
*By disclosure, I work as the Chief Medical Officer of Diatech Oncology.
