This is due to new antinausea medications and drugs that control anemia and fatigue, and decrease the risk of infection. One of the hottest new areas in cancer care is biological therapy which is designed to strengthen a person's immune system. Herceptin is the first of a new class of drugs which promises to block specific chemicals made by mutated genes. It has been shown to shrink or reverse breast cancer in some women who have not responded to conventional therapy. Women whose breast cancer places them at risk of developing metastatic disease or of relapsing may benefit from a stem cell transplant.
Stem cells are immature blood cells that become red cells, white cells and platelets.
The process begins with conventional chemotherapy. Once the patient has recovered from it, cells are collected and frozen. High-dose chemotherapy is administered and the cells are reinfused. Pennsylvania Hospital is one of only a few programs in the nation where a stem cell transplant can be performed without a blood transfusion. One of the biggest fears women have about breast cancer is that it ultimately leads to mastectomy.