BOSTON — Diagnosed with ovarian cancer two years ago, Svetlana Orlova developed life-threatening allergies to the chemotherapy that was supposed to cure her.”I got all flushed and itchy, and I had a little bit hard time of breathing,” said Orlova.It was her second round of chemotherapy, and her body was rejecting it. according to doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, it’s something that will happen to 60 to 70 percent of patients receiving multiple chemotherapy doses. Other symptoms include nausea, back pain, vomiting and a drop in blood pressure.In the past, doctors would have switched Orlova to a second-line therapy, or next available treatment option. Doctors say they are often less effective.”But right away, when I had this reaction, my nurse practitioner told me the details that we had this unit and how its going to help,” said Orlova.Called the Desensitization Unit, it’s a joint venture of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. There, the treatment drugs don’t change, but rather, just how they’re administered.”And the way we have done it is introducing small amounts and doubling doses,” said Dr. Mariana Castells, the developer of the program and the director of the desensitization program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “And the doubling of those doses does not allow the cell the read this as an allergic component.”Where standard chemotherapy takes about an hour, the 12 step desensitization process takes five to six hours.”So through the desensitization, we’re now able to use drugs that we know are more effective, and hence, women are living longer,” said Dr. Ursula Matulonis, director of the Medical Gynecological Oncology Department at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.”And it makes me feel very confident. I’m still able to receive it despite the allergy, and I’m getting the best possible treatment for me,” said Orlova.Castells also said they’re studying if patients who develop allergies are better off in the long run. She said their immune systems seem to be more alert and ready to fight disease, which could be why they develop allergies in the first place.

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