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Research into medication to subtly adjust the immune system is ongoing, which is not the same as a “magic megaboost”.
Your immune system protects against bacteria, or viruses and helps to destroy cancer cells, including skin cancer. We know that skin cancers can grow faster in people with weakened immune systems and are more likely to prove fatal.
Immunotherapy, a way of subtly tweaking the immune system, is being used to fight skin cancers. The video above highlights one approach and others are developing, so if you have, or are concerned about skin cancer, an immune system boost sounds tempting.
There are a wide range of pills, potions, tonics, mushrooms, or obscure wild roots available, claiming to enhance the immune system. Hard to escape the ads, so should you take any notice, or just click the close button.
The Reality Of Boosters
After our brain, the immune system is the most complex in our body and both are capable of moulding their performance to suit. The billions of immune cells which patrol our body on the lookout for enemies are an active weapon.
The wish to super charge them is understandable but also holds a major problem. Even if any of the various options on offer did work, they would be more likely to make us ill than improve our health.
We may want our immune system to be strong and well balanced but not super charged. Overreactive immune system are dangerous, as we have seen during the Covid pandemic, with floods of immune cells causing inflammation and damage to multiple organs.
A saving grace is the fact that none of the magic boosts have been clinically proven to work, those tested doing not a lot. Whilst this may seem like a swindle, you could also view the reality as a welcome result.
There are many types of immune cells, from monocytes to T cells and subsets of each. Research is looking at their function in fighting tumours and we should all benefit in time but not by imbibing an off the shelf solution.
A Better Answer
If we want our immune cells to be healthy, including those which guard our skin, there are natural ways to help. We know that the immune system is improved by exercise, a healthy diet helps with skin cancer, partly because this assists immune function.
These are longer term solutions, lifestyle choices rather than a quick fix but worth the effort. Apart from skin cancer, they assist in a myriad of ways and don’t involve sending off for a potion which is unlikely to help.
Also worth bearing in mind that the immune system can be suppressed by high exposure to UV radiation, the same thing that causes and aggravates skin cancer. Protection from the sun is important for prevention and as part of recovery.
Your immune system should be at the forefront of recovery, in a dedicated fight against skin cancer cells. If we can assist with wider skin cancer treatment, or advice on staying safe, by all means get in touch.