Mesothelioma | Mesothelioma

Both chemotherapy and chronotherapy use the same powerful and poisonous drugs to kill cancer cells, a process that inevitably damages the healthy cells.

But chemotherapy usually is done in a medical setting, according to a hospital's schedule and needs.

The promise of drug chronotherapy, which uses the same drugs but at different times, lies in its individual and precisely timed approach.

Ideally, the chemo drugs reach the cancerous cells at the optimal moment for destruction: as they are dividing.

And it hits the healthy cells when they are resting, which causes less damage.

"It allows for larger doses to be delivered more frequently, with higher efficacy and lower toxicity," said pioneering chronobiologist William Hrushesky, a senior clinical investigator at the Dorn VA Medical Center in South Carolina.

Chronotherapy began in Hrushesky's lab, which originally was at the University of Minnesota.

"It's kinder, gentler and, at the same time, more aggressive and effective," Hrushesky said.

In addition, because patients aren't necessarily receiving treatment at a hospital and saddled with cumbersome equipment, chronotherapy allows for some semblance of a normal life during treatment, and that's an emotional boost that helps healing.

Equipped with a sporty fanny pack and a programmable, portable pump, chrono patients ...

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