Carol Player
Diagnosis: Ocular Melanoma Liver Metastases
Carol was diagnosed with ocular melanoma in 2015, after 5 cancer free years, Carol received the devasting news that the cancer had spread to her liver. Carol has undergone 3 treatments with chemosaturation therapy.
What is Chemosaturation Therapy?
Chemosaturation therapy is a method of treating cancers in the liver. It is a procedure carried out under general anaesthetic.
Chemosaturation therapy limits the side effects typically associated with chemotherapy by filtering the chemo-heavy blood before returning it to the body. The medical device responsible for the filtration is called CHEMOSAT. CHEMOSAT is manufactured by Delcath Systems Ltd.
Chemosaturation therapy consists of three steps:
STEP 1 - ISOLATIONThe liver is temporarily isolated from the body’s blood circulation. This is done through the placement of three catheters (small plastic tubes) into your body – two in your groin and one in your neck. One catheter will be used to put two small balloons to “seal off” the blood in your liver from the rest of your body.
STEP 2 - SATURATIONA concentrated dose of chemotherapy is delivered via a catheter to the liver, saturating the entire organ. The chemotherapy can be given at higher concentration levels than is possible in systemic chemotherapy because the liver is isolated from the rest of the body.
STEP 3 - FILTRATIONBlood leaving the liver is directed outside of the body via a catheter to filters that remove most of the chemotherapy agent before returning the blood to the body.
STEP 1 - ISOLATIONThe liver is temporarily isolated from the body’s blood circulation. This is done through the placement of three catheters (small plastic tubes) into your body – two in your groin and one in your neck. One catheter will be used to put two small balloons to “seal off” the blood in your liver from the rest of your body.
STEP 2 - SATURATIONA concentrated dose of chemotherapy is delivered via a catheter to the liver, saturating the entire organ. The chemotherapy can be given at higher concentration levels than is possible in systemic chemotherapy because the liver is isolated from the rest of the body.
STEP 3 - FILTRATIONBlood leaving the liver is directed outside of the body via a catheter to filters that remove most of the chemotherapy agent before returning the blood to the body.
Procedure time
The procedure typically takes 2-3 hours to complete – procedure length may vary and is dependent on several factors. Not all patients are suitable for chemosaturation therapy – your treating doctor will need to decide if this treatment is suitable for you.
Repeatable treatment
Chemosaturation therapy is a repeatable treatment. Evidence from clinical trial literature suggests that patients can receive between 1-6 treatments. The number of treatments received will depend on your clinical response (how well the cancerous cells have responded to treatment).
Chemosaturation therapy is only available in specialised centres. A full list of centres can be found here. The first step should be to discuss chemosaturation therapy with your medical oncologist.
Further patient information is available on
AgainstTheOdds.com
Chemosaturation therapy is only available in specialised centres. A full list of centres can be found here. The first step should be to discuss chemosaturation therapy with your medical oncologist.
VISIT AGAINSTTHEODDS.COM
