Determining which type of cancer treatment is best for a patient is possible only after figuring out which exact stage of cancer it is. When the cancer has spread through a person to the lymphatic system, then a much stronger more intensive type of treatment is required. This is unfortunate because once in this system it is much more difficult to tell just where these cancer cells are located. It is hoped that Photoacoustics technology will be a helpful tool in this process.
It is hoped that this new form of technology will make it easier and less time consuming to look for cancer in the hidden realms of the lymph system. The laser induced type of ultrasound, or also known as Photoacoustics, might be the perfect tool to locate the exact location of cancerous cells within the lymph nodes.
Doctors hope that with the help if this technology they can more accurately determine what stages cancer like melanoma may be in, in each particular patient. Before this type of technology it was very difficult to determine what part of the lymph nodes the cancer had spread to because examining the entire lymph node is a time consuming and difficult process.
Once the need to examine the entire lymph node is abandoned it will be so much simpler to find the caner and get to treating it with the method needed for the particular stage it’s in. Once these stages can be accurately determined it will be a huge factor in making quick treatment and recovery and much faster and attainable goal.
The method is currently being studied to check whether it will actually help patients with melanoma type cancer. It is hoped it will cut down on the guess work and time it takes to find the stages in this cancer in particular. It should be of interest to all patients with melanoma as well as people who have loved ones with it because it could save them a ton of time, money, and misery in the treatment process, and get you better faster.
This method is not only supposed to be quicker abut it is also said to be a simpler method as well. Studies have been done with human cancer cells placed in the lymph nodes of animals, but they must be studies in human ones before this method can be determined as safe and useful in humans. Although, when used on the animal nodes with human cancer cells it was proven quite effective.
This technology uses lasers to scan the biopsy taken and then determines which parts of the biopsied areas contain the cancer cells. It acts on cells by heating and cooling them to cause them to make sounds that can then be measured to help find out what stage the cancer is in.
This fairly new form of technology is now being studied for determining if it may be as useful as scientists hope in the cancer treatment areas. Although, any way to speed up the cancer treatment process and get patients into recovery is an avenue well worth taking.
