Joe Castelli loves to watch a good battle in the ring, but nothing could prepare this rodeo fan for his own fight with pancreatic cancer.
He found out about a new therapy that could boost his chances. Joe is one of the first in the U.S. to take part in a clinical trial that uses fever to kill pancreatic cancer. Oncologist Dr. Joan Bull says, "we are using a temperature that you would get if you had a bad case of the flu."
Two days after Joe receives chemo and immune-boosting drugs, he's put into total-body thermal therapy. His temperature is carefully monitored as it's raised from 98 degrees to 104 degrees. Dr. Bull says, "the fever is giving a startle, a cry for help to the immune system to say, arm yourself, get out here, do something."
By waking up the immune system, doctors believe less chemo can be more effective.
The chemo and the infrared heat increase the body's immunity and help kill cancer cells everywhere. Joe is in the treatment once a month over a six-month period. The fever can be hard on a patients heart and lungs and cause severe fatigue.
Joe has gained 10 pounds, has less pain, and renewed hope.
One of Dr. Bull's patients was given a year to live, but after this therapy lived for three-and-a-half years after the diagnosis. Fever therapy is used successfully in Germany and is also used to treat small cell lung cancer.
