CYBERKNIFE AT MD ANDERSON?

scadamini
scadamini Member Posts: 10
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I was wondering if any of you know if MD Anderson does cyberknife? And, if they don't do cyberknife why not? Do they not believe in the procedure or think another procedure is more effective (other than liver resection or chemo)?

Comments

  • cyndi2324
    cyndi2324 Member Posts: 72
    I thought I had seen that
    I thought I had seen that they do have a Cyberknife on their web site. I know we (San Antonio) have one at the start the cure research center. That is where I'm in a clinical trial.
    Cyndi
  • scadamini
    scadamini Member Posts: 10
    cyndi2324 said:

    I thought I had seen that
    I thought I had seen that they do have a Cyberknife on their web site. I know we (San Antonio) have one at the start the cure research center. That is where I'm in a clinical trial.
    Cyndi

    Thank you
    Thank you for your input. My father is interested in cyberknife for two liver mets because of the non-invasiveness of the procedure and because he is tired of feeling so awful on chemo. He was initially going to go to Stanford for cyberknife but now he is thinking of trying to get inot MD Anderson but I am not sure that they do cyberknife.

    Christine
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    CyberKnife
    Hi Christine

    Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, TX does CyberKnife. The radiation oncologist there was a good and patient doctor, I liked him. His name was Dr. Connor.

    I had great success at Baylor with both RFA and CyberKnife.

    But CyberKnife won't be completely minimally invasive either, no matter where you go. They have to put the markers in and around the organ in question (liver) so that CyberKnife knows where to beam the radiation too.

    This could be a laprascopic procedure or could require an open procedure to plant those.

    Take care
    -Craig
  • scadamini
    scadamini Member Posts: 10
    Sundanceh said:

    CyberKnife
    Hi Christine

    Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, TX does CyberKnife. The radiation oncologist there was a good and patient doctor, I liked him. His name was Dr. Connor.

    I had great success at Baylor with both RFA and CyberKnife.

    But CyberKnife won't be completely minimally invasive either, no matter where you go. They have to put the markers in and around the organ in question (liver) so that CyberKnife knows where to beam the radiation too.

    This could be a laprascopic procedure or could require an open procedure to plant those.

    Take care
    -Craig

    Good Point
    Thank you for your input Craig. Although I knew that the markers had to be implanted, I never really considered the invasiveness of that part of the procedure so thank you for that. My dad was almost set to go to Stanford for cyberknife since it is close to home (we live in Reno, Nevada) but now, after speaking to a friend in the medical field, he is now thinking of attempting to get into MD Anderson. I don't think MD Anderson has cyberknife and from all of my research it seems that cyberknife seems to be his best option (he is 73 and tired of chemo and not interested in surgery). I do know, however, that MD Anderson is one of the best cancer centers to go to and would not lead him in the wrong direction. I just wonder if they believe in a treatment that is more effective or if they agree with cyberknife would we end up at Stanford anyway if they don't have it? Oh, my head is spinning!! Thank you agiain.
  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    scadamini said:

    Good Point
    Thank you for your input Craig. Although I knew that the markers had to be implanted, I never really considered the invasiveness of that part of the procedure so thank you for that. My dad was almost set to go to Stanford for cyberknife since it is close to home (we live in Reno, Nevada) but now, after speaking to a friend in the medical field, he is now thinking of attempting to get into MD Anderson. I don't think MD Anderson has cyberknife and from all of my research it seems that cyberknife seems to be his best option (he is 73 and tired of chemo and not interested in surgery). I do know, however, that MD Anderson is one of the best cancer centers to go to and would not lead him in the wrong direction. I just wonder if they believe in a treatment that is more effective or if they agree with cyberknife would we end up at Stanford anyway if they don't have it? Oh, my head is spinning!! Thank you agiain.

    You're Welcome
    Hey Christine

    Remember that Dallas is only 260 miles north on I-45 from Houston - so if MD Anderson did not work for you, then Dallas is a solid option - I've put my life in their hands so I trust this facility and their doctors are at the forefront of technology.

    And UTSW, which is UT Southwestern, also in Dallas where I'm currently going to and just had lung surgery, is another great option and they do CyberKnife as well. I trust them with my life as well, as I had the top lung doctor do my lung surgery.

    So please consider Dallas as another option in your arsenal to keep in mind.

    Just wanted to try and help - I've heard MD Anderson is highly accredited, and UTSW does consult with them as well.

    OK, take care and I look forward to hearing which way you go and how things turn out - it's a a tough choice I know firsthand as well. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best outcome.

    -Craig
  • snommintj
    snommintj Member Posts: 601
    Sundanceh said:

    You're Welcome
    Hey Christine

    Remember that Dallas is only 260 miles north on I-45 from Houston - so if MD Anderson did not work for you, then Dallas is a solid option - I've put my life in their hands so I trust this facility and their doctors are at the forefront of technology.

    And UTSW, which is UT Southwestern, also in Dallas where I'm currently going to and just had lung surgery, is another great option and they do CyberKnife as well. I trust them with my life as well, as I had the top lung doctor do my lung surgery.

    So please consider Dallas as another option in your arsenal to keep in mind.

    Just wanted to try and help - I've heard MD Anderson is highly accredited, and UTSW does consult with them as well.

    OK, take care and I look forward to hearing which way you go and how things turn out - it's a a tough choice I know firsthand as well. I'll be thinking of you and hoping for the best outcome.

    -Craig

    embolization?
    Has he considered bland embolization? I had it in sept and it put the smack down on all the cancer in the right lobe of my liver. I was planning to have my left lobe done last month but a few things reemerged in lung so I'm having to do some systemic chemo for a while. The embolization procedure requires an overnight stay in the hospital but recovery is minimal. An inteventional radiologist performs the procedure so when you ask about cyberknife ask about bland embolization. Bland embolization is similar to chemo embolization but without the chemo.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    RFA
    I had RFA done to lung mets and it worked very well and is non-evasive. It required an overnight stay and I left with a small bandaid over the needle mark.
    I'm not familiar with MD Anderson but not all facilities offer all procedures.
    I see others added a lot of helpful information
  • scadamini
    scadamini Member Posts: 10
    snommintj said:

    embolization?
    Has he considered bland embolization? I had it in sept and it put the smack down on all the cancer in the right lobe of my liver. I was planning to have my left lobe done last month but a few things reemerged in lung so I'm having to do some systemic chemo for a while. The embolization procedure requires an overnight stay in the hospital but recovery is minimal. An inteventional radiologist performs the procedure so when you ask about cyberknife ask about bland embolization. Bland embolization is similar to chemo embolization but without the chemo.

    Where did you have bland
    Where did you have bland embolization done?
  • scadamini
    scadamini Member Posts: 10
    PhillieG said:

    RFA
    I had RFA done to lung mets and it worked very well and is non-evasive. It required an overnight stay and I left with a small bandaid over the needle mark.
    I'm not familiar with MD Anderson but not all facilities offer all procedures.
    I see others added a lot of helpful information

    Thank you for your help. My
    Thank you for your help. My father is also considering RFA but was told that they may have to open him up because one of the liver mets is on the backside of his liver. He is a bit nervous about that because after his colon resection he developed absceses which burst and landed him in the hospital for three weeks. Therefore, he is quite nervous to have actual surgery. However, he would like to be evaluated for both procedures but Standford seems to do cyberknife and MD Anderson seems to do RFA but not cyberknife. Such hard decision!

    Christine
  • Lawlak
    Lawlak Member Posts: 21
    PhillieG said:

    RFA
    I had RFA done to lung mets and it worked very well and is non-evasive. It required an overnight stay and I left with a small bandaid over the needle mark.
    I'm not familiar with MD Anderson but not all facilities offer all procedures.
    I see others added a lot of helpful information

    RFA
    Phillieg,

    I am having RFA to a tumor in my right lung in a few weeks. Was the treatment effective for you? I have had all of my treatment except one clinical trial at MD Anderson but they are not doing RFA on metastatic rectal tumors in the lung.
  • CyberKnifeLI
    CyberKnifeLI Member Posts: 2
    Liver/Cyberknife
    MD Anderson does not offer Cyberknife Radiotherapy. They offer proton beam therapy which is not typically indicated for that disease. We offer Cyberknife in New York and have been providing stereotactic radiosurgery for many years prior to that using Linac-based radiosurgery.

    The CyberKnife Radiosurgery Solution:

    Liver Metastases
    Stereotactic radiotherapy/radiosurgery allows a substantial radiation dose escalation to liver metastases, translating to a radiation biologic potency greater than double that of conventional radiation therapy approaches. This brings a new nonsurgical liver tumor ablation method that is more precise and powerful than traditional radiotherapy, and less invasive than surgical removal, radiofrequency ablation (heating) or cryosurgery (freezing).

    The unique CyberKnife dose sculpting and target tracking attributes (Synchrony) make it a particularly attractive option for the treatment of liver metastatic lesions. As the only radiation delivery system that tracks respiratory tumor movement with 1.5 mm accuracy, the CyberKnife is uniquely capable of delivering an ablative radiation dose to liver metastases, with the sharpest margin possible, allowing the maximum possible sparing of adjacent normal liver tissue and nearby upper gastrointestinal organs.

    The efficacy of CyberKnife radiosurgery relative to metastatic resection or other ablative approaches such as cryosurgery or radiofrequency ablation is appropriately studied in prospective comparative clinical trials. Meanwhile, it is reasonably applied to patients with liver metastases who are not surgical candidates, or to those who refuse surgery or other invasive treatment methods.

    If you have any questions, please let me know.
  • scadamini
    scadamini Member Posts: 10

    Liver/Cyberknife
    MD Anderson does not offer Cyberknife Radiotherapy. They offer proton beam therapy which is not typically indicated for that disease. We offer Cyberknife in New York and have been providing stereotactic radiosurgery for many years prior to that using Linac-based radiosurgery.

    The CyberKnife Radiosurgery Solution:

    Liver Metastases
    Stereotactic radiotherapy/radiosurgery allows a substantial radiation dose escalation to liver metastases, translating to a radiation biologic potency greater than double that of conventional radiation therapy approaches. This brings a new nonsurgical liver tumor ablation method that is more precise and powerful than traditional radiotherapy, and less invasive than surgical removal, radiofrequency ablation (heating) or cryosurgery (freezing).

    The unique CyberKnife dose sculpting and target tracking attributes (Synchrony) make it a particularly attractive option for the treatment of liver metastatic lesions. As the only radiation delivery system that tracks respiratory tumor movement with 1.5 mm accuracy, the CyberKnife is uniquely capable of delivering an ablative radiation dose to liver metastases, with the sharpest margin possible, allowing the maximum possible sparing of adjacent normal liver tissue and nearby upper gastrointestinal organs.

    The efficacy of CyberKnife radiosurgery relative to metastatic resection or other ablative approaches such as cryosurgery or radiofrequency ablation is appropriately studied in prospective comparative clinical trials. Meanwhile, it is reasonably applied to patients with liver metastases who are not surgical candidates, or to those who refuse surgery or other invasive treatment methods.

    If you have any questions, please let me know.

    Great Info
    Thank you for your post. I was wondering what is left after the cyberknife procedure. RFA leaves a nodule or pocket after the tumor is ablated. What is left after cyberknife?

    Also, I have found a great website forum where you can post a question regarding your particular situation relating to cyberknife and a doctor answers your questions. It is a great place to go for those of you considering or wondering about cyberknife. It is located at www.cyberknife.com. Once you are on the site then click on patient forum which is located on the lower left side of the page.

    Christine