Being told you have cancer yet again, after already enduring the painful rounds of treatment can be really disheartening. Cancer can recur even after it has been treated successfully. This happens when cancer cells survive the initial treatment.
These cells remain undetected and later regrow. For one scientist, who had similar experience, this news led her down a path few would dare to take; choosing a risky unproven treatment that could either save her life or cost her everything.
When virologist Beata Halassy was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, she bravely chose to use her own scientific expertise rather than conventional treatments. She used a unique method known as oncolytic virotherapy, which directly attacks cancer cells using viruses. This wasn’t just any treatment, it was a therapy Beatae crafted herself using viruses she had grown in the lab.
The Scientist and Her Experiment
Dr. Beata Halassy, a scientist from the University of Zagreb, found out in 2020 that she had stage 3 breast cancer. She opted for oncolytic virotherapy (OVT), an experimental treatment, in place of standard chemotherapy. This approach helps the body’s immune system battle cancer by using viruses to target and destroy cancer cells. She used lab-grown viruses from vesicular stomatitis and measles to inject the tumor over a two-month period, which helped it shrink well enough for surgery.
Implications
There are some serious concerns with the concept of self-experimentation in medicine. In order to preserve her own life, Dr. Halassy created a treatment, but what if it hadn’t been successful? What if she needed medical assistance or something went wrong? Her experience makes us question when it’s acceptable to attempt something experimental, but it also shows the lengths some people will go to in order to find new treatments. Is there too much at stake, or should people be permitted to take such kinds of risks on their own?
Challenges and Limitations of Oncolytic Virotherapy (OVT)
Since OVT is still in its early years, much more study and testing needs to be done before it can be applied extensively. Finding out how it may affect different cancers and keeping humans safe are two challenges. Additionally, side effects including inflammation or immune system reactions can occur, making the treatment difficult to manage.
Bottom Line
In lieu of standard chemotherapy, Beata Halassy, a scientist with stage 3 breast cancer, chose to pursue an experimental treatment involving viruses grown in the lab. Oncolytic virotherapy is a treatment that targets cancer cells with viruses.
Although it was effective for her, it brought up serious concerns regarding the dangers of self-experimenting with unproven treatments. While some believe it could result in quicker cures, others caution about the risks and the need for thorough testing before using such techniques on a large scale.
