Lung Cancer Treatment Options: Radiation
One of the biggest challenges when treating lung cancer is effectively treating the tumor while minimizing the impact on the many vital organs and sensitive tissues that surround the mass. Precision is necessary, and that’s what makes the CyberKnife System an excellent, viable solution in some situations.
Why Cyberknife for Lung Cancer Treatment
The CyberKnife System is a leading technology in Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), a specialized radiation therapy used to routinely treat lung tumors and some metastases. CyberKnife offers a proven, non-surgical way of treating inoperable early-stage, non-small cell lung cancer, tumors in difficult anatomical locations like central lung tumors surrounded by sensitive structures and lung tumors located near the chest wall as well as inoperable peripheral lung tumors. CyberKnife SBRT can also sometimes be a good option for patients looking for an alternative to surgery.
Key CyberKnife® treatment benefits for lung cancer include:
- Good cancer control
- Non-invasive and non-surgical treatment
- Treatment is usually completed in three to five sessions across one to two weeks
- Significant reduction of common side effects, such as shortness of breath, sore throat or swallowing difficulties
- Ability to continue normal activities throughout treatment
CyberKnife is designed to treat a wide range of lung cancers–even the most complicated ones—and has more than two decades of clinical evidence that it is effective, helping thousands of patients with lung tumors and metastases. In fact, a pooled analysis of two randomized trials shows that lung SBRT is better tolerated and may lead to better overall survival when compared to surgery for operable early-stage lung cancers, especially in patients with poor lung function.
CyberKnife’s Motion Synchronization Technology
When you breathe, your torso will move. This means that the tumor will also move throughout treatment. Unlike any other device, the CyberKnife System uses the only real-time motion synchronization technology in the world, Synchrony® Respiratory Technology, to continuously monitor that motion and adapt treatment delivery to maintain precision. Unlike other radiation options, the CyberKnife does not require uncomfortable breath-hold techniques or patient restraints, so you can relax and breathe normally. Patients report feeling little to no anxiety or discomfort during treatments.
Re-Treatment with CyberKnife
Because CyberKnife’s precision targeting significantly reduces irradiation of surrounding tissues, it also enables re-treatment after previous radiation, and it can be a treatment option for a wider range of patients with lung cancer.
Tampa Bay Radiation Oncology (TBRO) offers some of the most advanced treatment options available to lung cancer patients in Tampa, Florida. If you or a loved one have a lung cancer diagnosis, rest assured that the lung cancer specialists at TBRO will deliver the highest level of care.
TBRO physicians’ main goal is to give lung cancer patients effective and precise treatment to attack tumors while also preserving as much healthy tissue as possible.
Contact us today to find out more about lung cancer, our lung cancer specialists, and lung cancer treatment options. We have multiple Florida facilities across Tampa Bay.
More than a thousand men and women diagnosed with cancer each year turn to our trusted team of cancer specialists. We encourage you to call us, ask us a question, or consult with us to get a second opinion so you, too, can experience the difference.