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Christopher - CyberKnife treatment

What can CyberKnife treat?

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is a non-invasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumours anywhere in the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney. The treatment - which delivers high doses of radiation to tumours with extreme accuracy - offers new hope to patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumours, or who may be looking for a non-surgical option. To date, more than 70,000 patients have been treated and more than 192 systems are installed worldwide.

Why is the CyberKnife System Unique?

The CyberKnife is a one-of-a-kind device for several reasons.
First, the CyberKnife System uses image guidance software to track and continually adjust treatment for any patient or tumour movement. This sets it far ahead of other similar treatments. It allows patients to breathe normally and relax comfortably during treatment.
Second, some forms of radio surgery require rigid head-frames that are screwed into the patient's skull to minimize any movement. The CyberKnife does not require such extreme procedures to keep patients in place, and instead relies on sophisticated tracking software, allowing for a much more comfortable and non-invasive treatment.
Third, unlike some radiosurgery systems, which can only treat tumours in the head, the CyberKnife has unlimited reach to treat a broad range of tumors throughout the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, and kidney.
And finally, the CyberKnife's treatment accuracy is unrivalled. Its ability to treat tumours with pin-point accuracy is unmatched by other radiation therapy and radiosurgery systems. The CyberKnife can essentially "paint" the tumour with radiation allowing it to precisely deliver treatment to the tumour alone, sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

Treatment Process

CyberKnife treatments are a team approach requiring the co-ordinated expertise of a group of specially trained people who focus on the individual patient; an oncologist, a Medical Physicist and radiographers who assist with planning and treatment delivery.
Prior to the procedure, the patient is imaged using a high-resolution CT scan or MRI, to determine the size, shape and location of the tumour(s).
Following scanning, the image data is digitally transferred to the CyberKnife System's workstation, where the treatment planning begins.
A qualified clinician then uses the CyberKnife software to generate a treatment plan. The plan is used to match the desired radiation dose to the identified tumour location while limiting radiation exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue.
Once the treatment plan has been developed, the patient is ready to undergo the CyberKnife procedure. After arriving at The London Clinic Cancer Centre, patients are comfortably positioned on the treatment table called a Robo Couch. Then the CyberKnife System's computer-controlled robot will slowly move around the patient to the various locations from which it will deliver radiation to the tumour(s).
Each treatment session will last between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on the type of tumour being treated. If treatment is being delivered in stages, patients will need to return for additional treatments over several days (typically no more than five), as determined by the patients doctor. Patients may experience some minimal side effects, but those often go away within the first week or two after treatment.