St. Luke’s introduces breakthrough cancer treatment

St. Luke’s Medical Center offers new hope to cancer patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis, a terminal condition that involves the spread of cancer from the ovaries, stomach, colon, rectum or appendix to the abdominal cavity. This condition ultimately causes intestinal obstruction, swelling of the abdomen and bleeding.

The breakthrough treatment offered by the St. Luke’s Medical Center Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Service involves cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (Hipec).

Available for the first time

Although the treatment modalities have been available in the United States since the early 1900s, the procedure is now available for the first time in the Philippines through St. Luke’s.

The therapy involves the surgical removal of all visible tumors in the abdominal cavity followed by the infusion of heated chemotherapy drugs into the abdomen using industry-leading equipment to eradicate residual cancer cells. This cutting-edge treatment has been proven to extend the lives of many patients with terminal stage cancer.

The highly skilled team of surgical oncologists, medical oncologists and gyne oncologists at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute provides the most up-to-date treatment modalities, exceptional service and personalized care to patients with advanced malignancies.