If you need radiation therapy to treat your cancer, you’ve come to the right place. Cape Fear Valley Health offers a highly targeted, highly effective radiation treatment called CyberKnife.
What is CyberKnife?
The CyberKnife System, or simply CyberKnife, is a type of radiation therapy used to treat cancer. Specifically, it’s a type of external beam radiation — meaning a machine beams radiation through your body and into your tumor.
The system is made up of several sophisticated pieces of equipment, including:
- A machine called a linear accelerator (LINAC), which sends the radiation into your body
- An attached robot that bends and moves, delivering radiation to your body from many angles
- Imaging technology that tracks your tumor in real time, so the radiation stays on target
CyberKnife also goes by other names, including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).
Both SRS and SBRT refer to the practice of delivering high doses of radiation matched to the size and shape of your tumor. And CyberKnife is the brand name of the equipment we use to deliver this type of radiation.
Types of cancer treated with CyberKnife
At Cape Fear Valley Health, we use CyberKnife to treat many types of cancer in different parts of your body. This includes:
- Brain cancer
- Breast cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Spine cancer
With CyberKnife, we can target primary tumors (cancer that hasn’t yet spread from its original location). We can also treat metastatic tumors, or cancer that has spread to another part of your body.
Our Approach to CyberKnife Radiation Therapy
When you have CyberKnife therapy at Cape Fear Valley Health, you’ll find yourself in caring and capable hands.
Our radiation oncologists offer — and have experience managing — a wide range of radiation treatments. This gives them the flexibility to choose the option that’s best suited to treat your type of cancer.
When making this decision, they’ll also consider your personal preferences. For example, CyberKnife may be ideal if your schedule makes it hard to attend numerous visits spanning a month or two.
Comprehensive cancer care
We also understand that CyberKnife therapy may be just one part of your treatment plan. If that’s the case, your radiation oncologist will work closely with your other cancer specialists.
If you need cancer-fighting drugs like chemotherapy, they’ll team up with your medical oncologist. And if you need surgery to remove your tumor, they’ll partner with your cancer surgeon.
Together, we’ll make sure you receive the most effective combination of treatments. And we’ll work to ensure these treatments have the smallest possible impact on your quality of life.
Benefits of CyberKnife Treatment
Like other radiation treatments, CyberKnife shrinks and destroys tumors. But it has a few advantages that make it an ideal choice for certain patients:
- Efficacy: CyberKnife uses higher doses of radiation, allowing you to complete your radiation therapy in fewer sessions. In fact, some patients only need a single treatment.
- Precision: Because the system uses computer-based mapping, it can deliver radiation within 2 millimeters of your tumor. This minimizes radiation damage to nearby organs and other healthy tissue.
- 3D targeting: CyberKnife sends many beams of radiation to your tumor at one time, meaning it can hit multiple areas at once. We can adjust these beams to the exact shape of your tumor.
- Real-time monitoring: The system’s ability to track your tumor means your radiation stays on target even during tumor movement. It’s common for tumors to move during breathing, digestion and other bodily functions.
What to Expect During CyberKnife Treatment
It’s natural to feel nervous before beginning any new medical treatment. But we’ll make sure you understand what to expect before, during and after CyberKnife therapy.
Treatment planning
Before you begin your treatments, you’ll have a planning session called a radiation simulation. This visit helps us determine the safest and most accurate way to deliver your radiation. It also gives you a preview of your upcoming visits.
Treatment planning usually includes some or all of the following steps:
- Taking a CT scan of your tumor. This helps us confirm the size, shape and location of your tumor, and see which nearby tissues to avoid.
- Creating a custom-fit “immobilizer.” This is a moldable device that holds your head or body in the same position each time you have treatment.
- Placing “fiducial markers” in your body. If you’re having radiation below your neck, you may have several tiny, seed-like objects implanted in and around your tumor. These objects (fiducial markers) let the CyberKnife System track your tumor during treatment.
Treatment sessions
Your provider will discuss the number and length of CyberKnife treatments you’ll need, which depends on several factors. These include your tumor’s size and location, and whether you’re also having other cancer treatments.
But generally speaking, you can expect the following:
- Most patients need between one and five treatment sessions. These may occur daily for five days, or every couple of days for up to two weeks.
- Individual sessions can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes each.
- During your treatments, you’ll lie on a treatment table while the machine delivers radiation. The robotic arm may move around you to deliver radiation from different angles.
- The treatments are painless.
- After each treatment, you can go home. CyberKnife therapy doesn’t require a hospital stay.
CyberKnife side effects
CyberKnife therapy side effects vary from person to person. They usually occur in the part of your body that received radiation, and may include:
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Dry mouth
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Headaches
- Nausea or vomiting
- Skin changes, such as redness, peeling or itching
- Trouble urinating
CyberKnife treatments delivered to your pelvic area may cause fertility issues. If you’re concerned about your ability to have children after radiation therapy, talk to your provider about your fertility options.
