We treat cancer with chemotherapy… differently, using chronomodulated administration of drugs.

When you think of cancer treatment, chances are you may think first about chemotherapy. In fact, chemotherapy is the single most common type of treatment for cancer, being used to treat half of all cancer patients. A primary treatment with a long record of helping patients, chemotherapy can also be unpleasant, causing sometimes severe side effects, such as nausea, hair loss, fatigue and many others.

Integrating — and enhancing — chemotherapy to help you beat the odds.

At the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, we understand both the positive and negative aspects of chemotherapy. Because of its long track record of success against cancer, we always consider and often include chemotherapy in our individualized, fight-on-all-fronts treatment plans. And because of its toxicity and side effects, we’ve integrated chemotherapy into our care along with specialized protocols, techniques and equipment that help make chemotherapy much less burdensome on patients while increasing its effectiveness.

What is chemotherapy?

At its simplest, “chemotherapy” means “chemical therapy.” Specifically, chemotherapy involves using chemical compounds — carefully designed anti-cancer medications — that have a toxic effect on cancer. There are many different kinds of these chemotherapy drugs, and they selectively target and attack cancer cells using different mechanisms. What unifies these different medications is that they destroy cancer cells selectively.

Chemotherapy drugs can be used in combination or alone, and they can be administered by infusion into a vein, by taking pills orally, or by injecting medicine into a body cavity. Chemo medications work by targeting cancer cells and essentially poisoning them. Because it is at work within your entire system, chemotherapy can attack and destroy cancer cells throughout the body, not just where the cancer originates. But this means chemotherapy also affects healthy cells. The good news is that healthy cells are able to repair themselves and recover during intervals between treatment sessions. Cancer cells, which have faulty DNA, are much less able to repair and recover, and they eventually succumb to the repeated toxic exposure to the chemo drug(s).

We treat cancer with chemotherapy… differently.

At the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, our research and care team followed the science, which shows that the time of day, the rate at which chemotherapy is delivered, and the style of the infusion curve can reduce the drugs’ toxicity and maximize their treatment benefits. So we researched and developed the use of specialized infusion pumps that deliver the drugs at optimal circadian times and infusion rates to minimize toxicity and maximize effectiveness.

As partners with the pioneer — Dr. William Hrushesky, who developed the technique and its clinical importance with over 300 peer-reviewed articles — the Block Center offers this enhanced methodology, called chronomodulated therapy, which can dramatically reduce side effects while improving treatment response and survival.

In addition, our cancer care team is also leading the way in at-home chemotherapy. This is not for the sake of patient convenience. The fact is that our bodies have cycles and rhythms, and those patterns come with changes in biochemistry. What we know at the Block Center is that your “clock” is critical to the success and tolerance of your treatment. So, at different times of day, such as during slumber, chemotherapy can be more or less easily absorbed into the body and have greater or lesser toxic and curative effect. It’s all individual to you, and individualized care focused on your best treatment experience and outcomes is what we’re all about.

For more information about integrative chemotherapy at the Block Center, or to schedule an appointment, call 877-41-BLOCK (877-412-5625). You can also schedule an appointment using our easy online form.