PODCAST: Using the immune system to fight cancer (Ep. 29)

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Orlando Sentinel Conversations Episode 29:

Orlando Sentinel health reporter Naseem Miller talks with Dr. Mark Socinski, the executive medical director of the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, about immunotherapy and what these groundbreaking drugs mean in the battle against cancer.

Socinski has specialized in the treatment of lung cancer for 25 years.

Socinski says of recent developments in cancer treatment: “I refer to the past three or four years as the ‘immuno-tsunami’ in lung cancer. A lot of things have happened.”

Immunotherapy is a new type of treatment that harnesses the body’s own immune system to attack the cancer.

In this podcast, Socinski outlines the evolution of cancer treatments, describes how immunotherapy works and explains side effects associated with these groundbreaking drugs.

Currently, immunotherapy is most promising fighting cancers with a high level of mutations such as bladder cancer, melanoma and lung cancer.

Socinski said of the optimism surrounding immunotherapy: “I would not say this to a patient today, that we could cure you. But I know that there are patients that have been cured with immunotherapy.”

SHOW NOTES:

The Orlando Sentinel helps you stay healthy with Get Healthy Orlando.

Podcast music – Magnitude by Benjamin McAvo.