a person sitting on a bed in a plastic suit

A patient being treated with hyperthermia. Whole body hyperthermia is a method to raise a patient's body temperature for the treatment of advanced cancer. This technique is based on laboratory studies that show cancer cells are more sensitive to heat injury than normal cells. Physicians induce hyperthermia using a high-flow water suit controlled by a microprocessor, a machine which closely monitors body temperature. The patient's body temperature is raised by the insulated build-up of metabolic (body) heat, plus by the heat delivered by the warm-water suit.