Jarek’s story began about 1 ½ years ago when he began losing his hearing in his left ear. He’s a very active person – he’s married with three children and runs his own business – and he was concerned about the potential impact of this health issue on his life.
After many tests he learned there was a large tumor in his head, located very close to the brain stem and connected to the hearing nerve, that was causing his hearing loss. Jarek consulted with multiple doctors to determine the best course of treatment for him, which included radiation therapy delivered using the CyberKnife® System.
Jarek is sharing his story because he wants people with a similar diagnosis to know they have options.
CyberKnife treats all types of brain tumors non-invasively and effectively while maintaining quality of life. It uses radiation to ablate tumors and stop them from growing. Its pinpoint accuracy minimizes damage to nearby tissue, which is a problem with standard radiation.
Who Is a Candidate for CyberKnife?
Most people who have been told that they are not a candidate for surgery, because a tumor is in a dangerous area of the brain, may be a candidate for CyberKnife Brain Cancer Treatment.
We can also treat benign lesions, post-operative patients, and metastases.
What To Expect from CyberKnife Brain Tumor Treatment?
Most patients can be treated in 1-5 treatments over a period of a few days. The treatment itself is comfortable, and patients can expect little to no side effects after undergoing CyberKnife.
What Types of Brain Tumors Can CyberKnife Treat?
Whether benign, such as meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, pituitary adenomas, and cavernous angiomas; primary, such as persistent/recurring glioblastomas or astrocytomas; or metastatic tumors, we treat them all with great success.
Despite its name, CyberKnife is not a knife at all. Also known as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) and Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), this cutting-edge radiation technology is completely non-invasive.
There’s no cutting, incision, blood, anesthesia, or pain. There are few, if any, side effects and no recovery time. You can resume your normal activities immediately following treatment.
Each treatment takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Patients typically require only one to five treatments instead of 10 or more treatments with conventional radiation therapy. If tumors come back, we often can treat them again.
The CyberKnife system can be used either on a stand-alone basis or in combination with other brain cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, surgery, or whole-brain radiation therapy.
Unlike other radiosurgery systems – such as the Gamma Knife – the CyberKnife system does not require patients to be fitted with a rigid and invasive head frame and is done on an outpatient basis. In the set-up stage, the radiation therapist will create a soft mesh mask that is custom fitted to the patient’s face. This comfortable and non-invasive mask helps keep the patient’s head and neck still during treatment.
While wearing the mask, a CT scan will be performed. The CT data will be used by the CyberKnife team to determine the exact size, shape and location of the tumor.
The medical team will determine the size of the area that must be targeted by radiation and the appropriate radiation dose.
The CyberKnife will move slowly around you during treatment and you won’t feel a thing. It’s completely pain free. Patients dress comfortably in their own clothes and can bring music to listen to during treatment. Nothing will be required of the patient, except relaxation. In fact, patients often sleep through the treatment.
There are generally only minimal side effects from CyberKnife treatments, which may include mild headache and fatigue.
After completing the CyberKnife treatment, patients will schedule follow-up appointments.
Keep in mind that the brain tumor will not suddenly disappear. In fact, it could take several weeks or longer for the full effect of the treatment to be known.
Response to treatment varies from patient to patient. Clinical experience has shown that most brain cancer patients respond very well to CyberKnife treatments.
CyberKnife radiosurgery has been used for more than three decades with extremely high rates of tumor control, and most patients are good candidates for treatment.
Call the CyberKnife Center of Miami to find out if we can help you 305-279-2900 and go to our website now for more information.