CAR T-cell therapy has helped Leukemia and Lymphoma patients beat the disease.
Another advanced cancer therapy treatment is now available at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
The Chimeric Antigen Receptor (or CAR) T-cell therapy uses a patient’s own immune system to hunt down and destroy cancer cells.
Dr. Annette Hay, a hematologist at KHSC and Chair of the Division of Hematology at Queen’s University, says it basically a living medicine.
Hay says those who take the CAR T-cell usually have gone through other methods of treatment.
The CAR T-cell therapy is currently being used for Leukemia and Lymphoma patients.
But Hay hopes, in the future, they will be able to expand it and treat patients with other forms of cancer or other serious medical conditions.
Hay says before it was made available in Kingston, patients had to go to other centres like Toronto, Ottawa, or to the United States to get this therapy.
However, Hay warns that CAR T-cell is not for everyone.
She says it is important that the patient who takes this treatment understands the side effects, and that staff know how to manage it.
People can learn more about the CAR T-cell therapy by going to the Kingston Health Sciences Centre website.
Story by Ken Hashizume
One of the best workplaces in Canada that make safety a top priority is right here in Kingston
Don’t forget your pets: Ontario SPCA urges families to prepare for emergencies now
Police investigate sudden death of woman in Odessa, no indication of foul play
Province-wide police campaign focusing on misuse of 911
United Way honours local volunteers at annual luncheon
