The most common symptoms of pituitary tumors include headaches, vision problem, tiredness, mood changes, irritability, changes in menstrual cycles in women, and impotence in men.
Shalini Verma, a 45-year-old woman, began experiencing severe headaches, blurred vision, and unexplained weight gain. An MRI scan revealed a tumor in her pituitary gland. Its location made it challenging to access, and traditional surgery posed significant risks, including damage to nearby structures like the optic nerve, so doctors recommended CyberKnife radiation therapy to dissolve the tumor.
CyberKnife, is a state-of-the-art, non-invasive treatment that can precisely target the tumor with the most powerful sub-millimeter radiation beams and eliminate it without the need to cut the tumor out with a surgical knife. Verma underwent several CyberKnife treatment sessions over the course of a week.
The procedure was painless, and she experienced minimal side effects. A follow-up MRI six months later showed a significant reduction in the tumor size, and her symptoms had almost completely resolved.
CyberKnife Radio-surgery is especially effective for tumors in complex locations like the pituitary gland, where traditional surgery might be risky or impossible.
This advanced technology provided Mrs. Verma with a safe and effective treatment option, allowing her to return to her normal life without the long recovery time associated with conventional brain surgery.
What is a pituitary gland tumor? Pituitary gland, which is also known as the master gland has the most important function of producing hormones that regulates the critical organs of the body including thyroid, adrenal glands, ovaries and testes. It is a small pea-size gland located behind the eyes and below the front of the brain. Improper functioning of the gland usually results in excess or under production of hormones that leads to a formation of a mass called a tumor, which can be benign or malignant. Such tumors in this gland can create numerous serious medical conditions by interfering with the normal functioning of the endocrine system and pituitary gland. Some tumors produce hormones known as functional tumors, and others can cause the glands to secrete too few or too many hormones.
What causes a pituitary tumor? While most are non cancerous, the exact causes are unknown. Some of them are hereditary and some are caused by a rare genetic disorder called as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1.
What are the symptoms? Depending upon the hormonal variations in the body, there can be a variety of symptoms. The most common symptoms include headaches, vision problem, tiredness, mood changes, irritability, changes in menstrual cycle in women, impotence, infertility, Inappropriate breast growth or production of breast milk, Cushing’s syndrome which is a combination of weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, easy bruising, the enlargement of the extremities or limbs, thickening of the skull and jaw caused by too much growth hormone.
Treatment for Pituitary Tumors: When diagnosed at an early stage, totally non-invasive treatment with CyberKnife is an excellent option. CyberKnife is the most advanced radiation therapy available for the treatment of benign as well as malignant tumors. Its robotic arm can easily target tumors in hard to reach areas of the brain, and eliminate them without brain surgery and all the risks that come with it.
CyberKnife’s missile guided tumor tracking system delivers high doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy to the tumor safely and effectively, dissolving them without damaging surrounding healthy brain tissue, or causing side effects. The treatment sessions are done on an outpatient basis. Which means no hospital stay.
CyberKnife Side Effects: It’s painless and patients go about their daily routine as soon as the treatment session is over, which takes about 30 minutes to 1-hour. Most patients need 1-to-5 treatments over the course of 10 days. This approach helps limit side effects such as fatigue and headache. Over the counter pain relievers like Tylenol is often all that’s needed. And fatigue most often passes by the next day. Most patients return to their regular routing the same day of treatment.
Yes, CyberKnife is covered by most insurances and has a success rate of 98%, even with complicated tumors. After treatment patients are followed up to make sure they are doing well. Every 6 months for one year they are scheduled for an MRI to ensure there is no recurrence of a tumor. Then an MRI once a year for at least 5 years.
For more information about brain tumors, contact the top cancer doctors in Miami at the CyberKnife Center of Miami to find out if you are a candidate for CyberKnife radiation therapy. If you are, our goal is to team up with you, and promise to get you treated as quickly, easily, safely and effectively as possible. Reach us at 305-279-2900 – www.cyberknifemiami.com