Finding the right treatment for your cancer is essential along the road of recovery. For the best possible outcome, you will want to find a cancer center that offers the most advanced treatment options and technologies with a board-certified team of oncologists. The right treatment for you will be determined after considering a number of factors: cancer type and stage, age, physical condition, comorbidities, and more. The first step to choosing the right cancer treatment for you is learning your options.
CyberKnife
Also known as Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Radiosurgery, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), or Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR), CyberKnife can be used for the treatment of:
- Brain Tumors
- Acoustic Neuroma (benign or non-malignant tumor)
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM)
- Head and Neck Tumors
- Spine Tumors
- Lung Tumors
- Prostate Cancer
- Liver Tumors
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Kidney (Renal Cell)
- Metastatic Cancer
- Recurrent Cancer
CyberKnife is used for the primary treatment for cancerous and non-cancerous tumors throughout the body. It is often used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, and standard radiation therapy. CyberKnife is non-invasive, and treatments are always done in 1-5 treatment sessions within the span of a week. Radiation oncologists use CyberKnife to track tumors and treat with pinpoint accuracy.
Radiation Therapy
There are numerous radiation therapy treatment options, including CyberKnife, but other common radiation therapy treatments include External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) and Internal Radiation Therapy, such as HDR and LDR brachytherapy. These technologies use radiation to treat both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors throughout the body, and can be used as the primary cancer treatment or in conjunction with other forms of treatment.
Surgery
Cancer surgery has been used to treat cancer for many years. Many advances have been made in surgical techniques that allow surgeons to operate on a growing number of patients.
When surgery requires a surgeon to cut into the body to operate, it is known as invasive surgery. Today, operations can be done to remove tumors while saving as much tissue and functionality as possible.
Chemotherapy
Known as “chemo,” chemotherapy uses strong drugs to treat cancer. Chemo comes in many different doses and is used for different reasons. It can be used to keep cancer from spreading, slow cancer growth, kill cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body, and relieve symptoms like pain or blockages, etc. Chemo kills cancer cells but also affects normal cells; however, most normal cells can repair themselves. Chemo can be administered by pill, liquid, shot, rubbed on the skin, or catheter and can be given once a day, week, or month. Chemo is given in “rounds” with breaks between treatment cycles so that your body has time to rebuild healthy cells to regain strength.
Immunotherapy
Cancer immunotherapy uses certain parts of the immune system to fight cancer. It can be used by stimulating your own immune system to attack cancer cells or by giving your immune system man-made immune system proteins. Immunotherapy works better for some types of cancer than others. The main types of immunotherapy include: monoclonal antibodies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and other non-specific immunotherapies. These treatments range from designing antibodies to attack very specific parts of cancer cells to boost the immune system in a general way.
At Alaska CyberKnife Center at Providence Cancer Center, our radiation oncologists are committed to providing accurate and effective radiosurgery treatment for patients. Cancer can affect anyone but can also be survived by anyone. Let us be part of your team and help you win the battle against cancer. Our team of board-certified cancer doctors will work with you, and your other doctors, to determine the best treatment plan for your unique condition, including treatment options that be combined with other forms of treatment.