CyberKnife

Tricia10 said:

Cyberknife
Hi Julie
I have stage Iv lung w/mets to the brain & lymph nodes. Oct of last ur I had surgery to remove the tumors from left occio rim & then about 3 wks later went back for cyberknife rad to the area. My most recent PET shows all is still clear on brain (great Dr!). Unfortunately rt lung nods haven't shrunk that much even after 6 wks of Rad and chemotherapy. After three wk hiatus frm chemotherapy, I went on "maintenance chemotherapy". after 3 sessions It was making me so tired and headachy I didn't feel like going to work or doing much of anything productive, so informed my lung Onc. That I was going off the chemotherapy and I feel much better now: commuting to work 3 days a week, gardening, exercising, getting ready to drive alone to another state to visit family and friends. In other words, enjoying each day to it's fullest.
I'd like to hear from others who have made the choice to go off chemotherapy and how they have fared.......

I diffracts a bit I know, but do think cyberknife rad was good for me.

AlanRinHBG said:

cyberknife
I had tuomor in my right lung at the apex. They did 30 IMRT radios and chemo of cisplatin and etopicide. After that, surgery was to occur to remove what was left.( lobectomy). It did shrink but surgery became impossible because the tuomor invaded my spine. Surgery they said would almost certainly paralyze me. So they started another batch of chemo (taxotere).Also got sent to Cyberknife of Philly.com.Check out that website and read about Dr. Luther Brady. I asked him if this was going to work for me. He said "We are going to kick it's ****." He apologized for putting it that way. I told him those are the words I've been waiting for. His philosophy is that it truly is surgery without the surgery. I started with stage 4 cancer 2 years ago next month. It took 5 visits to Cyberknife in Nov. 2010. There is no sign of tumor activity at all anymore. Last scans on May 10th still negative. I definately am glad I didn't have real surgery after all. I can't tell you enough how much I reccomend it. I hope you get as good a result as I did. Read the bio on Dr. Brady too. I would travel any distance for his service. God bless, Alan

cabbott said:

Something to ask about
The cyberknife if I understand it correctly is where they use triangulated radiation to kill a set of cells in a spot that is well-defined. It is usually reserved for getting rid of cancers that cannot be removed by convential surgery. Sometimes removing a lobe of a lung can result in a cure. If the cyberknife was used instaed of removing the lobe, some stray cells might be missed and the cancer may grow back. That might not be quite the result you were hoping for. I'm not sure that radiation can be used on the same spot more than once, so you might not want to use it as a first resort on the lung, especially if surgery could result in a cure and the cyberknife might not. I have heard of a lot of folks that could not have surgery that were greatly benefitted by the cyberknife. Mets to the brain are one place where this treatment is a godsend. I believe insurance did cover folks with those kinds of situations.

It is scary to think of someone possibly removing part or all of your lung. We are taught from an early age that lungs are vital organs. I had a hard time trusting that I would be okay after lung surgery. My doctor referred me to a thoracic surgeon that did VATS procedures. They are much easier to recover from. I have had both a VATS procedure and a modified VATS on my right lung within 10 days of each other. After just the VATS procedure I was jogging slowly around a track after less than two weeks. The second surgery was more difficult, but I was still back at the gym in just a few weeks. I can't say that losing part of my lung has really slowed me down a lot, though I was pretty weak the week right after surgery.

I'm sure you will make the right decision for you. Good luck!