One of the medical sciences' biggest drives is to find a cure for cancer. Every year, 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed, and recovery can be brutal. However, using an emergent and relatively new method, one scientist has successfully treated her cancer using viruses.
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Since having her breast removed due to a previous case of cancer, Beata Halassy discovered she had it again. It was in the same location, but this time she didn't want to have to go through chemo. The process is incredibly demanding on the body and can leave the patient in very ill health. However, currently, it is one of the most common ways cancer is treated.
This time around, Halassy decided to take matters into her own hands. With her knowledge and research, she chose to treat the cancer using a combination of viruses. This is a relatively untested process, but one that she believed would work.
Halassy Treated Her Cancer With Untested Methods
The scientist went to war with her own stage 3 breast cancer, using herself as a guinea pig for the untested cancer treatment. The process is a complex one, known as oncolytic virotherapy, which she self-administered, and later released her study on.
Without getting too deep into the science of this treatment, it essentially uses viruses to attack the cancer. Various viruses are used to target the cancerous cells. The virus kills the cancer cells in the localized area, and further stimulates the immune system to fight back.
She treated her cancer using the measles virus followed by a dose of vesicular stomatitis. Her knowledge of the two viruses allowed her to carefully manage her treatment and successfully beat the cancer.
Now, four years later, she is still cancer-free. In her stunning report, she also notes that during the treatment she experiences little to no major side effects. This is in stark contrast to the current chemotherapy process that leaves patients in a terrible state.
The study performed by Halassy was monitored by oncologists, who marked her progress as she treated her cancer. Her progress, methods, and results have all been compiled, and will hopefully push us toward better, effective methods of treatment.
