“The ideal cancer therapy would not only target the primary tumor, but at the same time would bolster the immune system’s ability to recognize, track down and destroy any remaining tumor cells, regardless of their location. PDT, perhaps in tandem with hyperthermia (heating up the body), appears to have such desirable effects on the immune system. In the years ahead, I anticipate great advances in our understanding of combination therapies that can be used with PDT to enhance the anti-cancer immune response…. The Medicine of Light illuminates a revolutionary way of thinking about our approach to cancer and other diseases. Used in the right way, light-based therapies can help us overcome a wide range of cancers, as well as to support the body’s ability to resist disease and restore health.” [From the Foreword]
Keith I. Block, MD,
Medical Director, Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, Skokie, Illinois (USA)
Editor-in-Chief, Integrative Cancer Therapies (Sage Publications)
Director, Integrative Medical Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago
Scientific Director, Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Education
Author, Life Over Cancer (Bantam 2009)
“The Medicine of Light draws timely attention to the important effects of photodynamic therapy in stimulating the anti-cancer immune defenses. 
Although these effects have been known in experimental animals for some time, they have not been studied in clinical applications to any great extent. PDT is different from traditional cancer therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which can shrink the tumor but at the same time suppress the host immune system. In contrast, PDT can shrink the tumor but at the same time can stimulate the host immune system in order to track down and destroy distant metastases, and the approaches described in this book offer hope of real cures for advanced malignant disease.”
,
Wellman Center for Photomedicine,
Massachusetts General Hospital (primary teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School)
Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School
Editor of the medical textbook, Advances in Photodynamic Therapy, and co-editor of Handbook of Photomedicine and Photodynamic Inactivation of Microbial Pathogens
Associate Editor of 7 international journals including Photochemistry and Photobiology, PLoS ONE, and Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy
“The Medicine of Light has taken on the daunting task of providing an Everyman’s guide to Photomedicine, and it has done so with flying colors. The authors uncover the complexities of the science and clinical aspects of PDT in simple, readable language, using an easily comprehensible yet elegant style.”
Keyvan Moghissi, MD FRCS (Ed), FRCS (Eng), FETCS
Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon Clinical Director of Yorkshire Laser Centre, UK
Editor in Chief, Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy
Cofounder of the European Platform for Photodynamic Medicine, affiliated with the International Photodynamic Association
“From ancient healing knowledge to high-tech innovations in modern cancer treatment, this enthusiastic book should help to educate and inspire patients and doctors about the world of Photodynamic Therapy and other light-based treatment methods. The final chapter provides a comprehensive overview of Photomedicine along with discussions of how light interacts with human metabolism, and how this approach to medicine may help bring humans back to a closer relationship with the natural world.”
Thierry Patrice, PhD,
Professor, Scientific Head Laser Dep. Neurosurgery, Laennec Hosp., Nantes, France
Former Congress President (1998)
International Photodynamic Association
“The Medicine of Light aptly describes for a broad readership the principles and uses of photodynamic therapy in many common disorders, including cancer and infectious disease. As the authors attest, PDT has a bright future in modern medicine thanks to the development of better PDT-agents and an improved understanding of the immune system’s role in cancer. Our research confirms that the combination of PDT followed by targeted immunotherapy has great potential in the treatment of cancer.”
Prof. Clemens W.G.M. Löwik,
Principal Investigator MUSIS project
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)
President of the European Society for Molecular Imaging
“The Medicine of Light shines new and inspiring light on the potential for using photodynamic treatment (PDT) to shrink malignant tumors while also igniting the immune system to attack the remaining tumor cells, including metastases. Combining light therapies with modern immune-stimulating drugs offers exciting future opportunities for synergistic immune-PDT strategies that will undoubtedly improve cure rates of otherwise lethal cancer types.”
Ferry Ossendorp PhD,
Head Tumor Immunology Group Leiden University Med. Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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