Photos by Bruce Forster and Jerome Hart
There is a killer inside of you, and you should be glad.
Buried within your own body may be the best weapon against cancer, "killer" cells that wait to be activated to fight back against one of the most insidious diseases that attack the human body. Bernard Fox, Ph.D. (left), is looking for that killer – white blood cells called lymphocytes – and working every day with other scientists to turn those cells into a cure for cancer.
Dr. Fox is a lead researcher at the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center, part of the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute and Providence Cancer Center. The research at the Franz Center focuses on immunotherapy.
The concept is simple: boost the patient's immune system so that the body itself fights the cancer. Immunotherapy is on the verge of becoming the fourth major mode of treatment in the battle against cancer, along with the current treatments of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. appointments.