National Lung Cancer Awareness Month is observed every November in the United States by health experts, advocates, and individuals concerned with the disease. Designating a month for lung cancer serves the purpose of increasing public awareness of the of the disease, including its prevalence, approaches to screening and prevention, treatment options, and resources that offer updated lung cancer information throughout the year. Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. These abnormal cells do not carry out the functions of normal lung cells and do not develop into healthy lung tissue. As they grow, the abnormal cells can form tumors and interfere with the functioning of the lung, which provides oxygen to the body via the blood. Lung cancer accounts for about 27% of all cancer deaths and is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. According to the American Cancer Society, over 14k new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in Texas in 2017.
Patients diagnosed with lung cancer are treated with the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System at Austin CyberKnife. CyberKnife is a painless, noninvasive alternative to surgery for the treatment of both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors anywhere in the body. The treatment delivers beams of high dose radiation to tumors with extreme precision and features a device that controls the width of the radiation beams the machine delivers during treatment, allowing our clinical experts to vary the beam size and treat a larger variety of tumors throughout the body. Before treatment, a radiation oncologist will determine whether the patient’s tumor may need implanted fiducial markers, tiny markers that inserted into the tumor to guide the CyberKnife system track the tumor during treatment. The patient will also be fitted with a custom body support pad, which will help him/her remain relaxed and still during treatment. To monitor breathing, the CyberKnife team will provide the patient with a comfortable LED-enhanced vest or shirt to wear during treatment. During treatment, the patient will lie still, relax, and breathe normally as the CyberKnife’s computer-controlled robotic arm moves around his/her body, delivering radiation directly to the tumor or lesion.
There are numerous benefits of CyberKnife treatment, including:
- It’s noninvasive, meaning no incisions
- There is no anesthesia or hospitalization required
- It’s painless
- It’s completed in five or fewer outpatient treatment sessions
- There is little to no recovery time, allowing for an immediate return to daily activities
- There are minimal, if any, side effects
- Due to pinpoint precision of high-dose radiation delivery, there is minimal radiation exposure to healthy tissue surrounding a tumor
Austin CyberKnife is located on I-35 near the Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas. Call 512-324-8060 or go to austincyberknife.com for more details.
Sponsored by Austin Cyberknife. Opinions expressed by guests on this program are solely those of the guest(s) and are not endorsed by this television station.