Precision Medicine in Treating Cancer Elizabethtown, KY

Precision medicine in treating cancer involves a more individual approach rather than the one size fits all approach to cancer treatment, and the hope is to provide better outcomes and less side effects with cancer treatment by offering more tailored approach. Benefits of precision oncology are providing an option for patients to receive another treatment beyond chemotherapy with hopefully less side effects and increased outcomes for the patient.

Once the patient's been diagnosed with cancer and we have tissue confirmed diagnosis of the cancer, it's sent to another company that subsequently sequences that tumor and looks for several genes that we can target with FDA approved medications.

We know certain mutations can cause more toxicity in patients who receive immunotherapy treatments. And so by giving less toxic and hopefully a better tolerable and less time consuming regimen, it will provide better outcomes for the patient.

I think it's important and great that we have precision oncology here at Baptist Health Harden because not all patients can travel to bigger cities, especially in a rural setting. Some patients may not be able to travel distances to large cancer centers, and cancer care should be available to everyone no matter their socioeconomic background or location.