FENTON, Mo., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When St. Louis CyberKnife patient Theresa Thompson was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, doctors determined the disease had spread beyond her lungs to her brain.
While stage IV lung cancer is difficult to treat, doctors reviewed her case and decided to aggressively treat with CyberKnife and chemotherapy. Thompson underwent CyberKnife first to treat two metastatic brain lesions. Following the success of this procedure, her doctors recommended chemotherapy to shrink her lung tumor.
“With chemotherapy, we saw evidence her lung tumor was shrinking and we decided that given her only remaining cancer was in the lung, it should be treated aggressively with CyberKnife,” said Dr. David Morris, medical director of St. Louis CyberKnife.
Thompson underwent CyberKnife treatment a second time and within four noninvasive sessions, her lung tumor was successfully treated. Her unique case demonstrated that by strategically using two treatment methods, doctors were able to decrease side effects and overall treatment time for a patient experiencing metastatic lung cancer to the brain.
“I had no side effects and felt in good health after treatment. My MRI results before and after showed my swelling had gone down significantly,” Thompson said.
St. Louis CyberKnife treats lung and metastatic tumors with an advanced procedure called stereotactic body radiotherapy. During treatment, precisely focused beams of radiation are delivered to tumors without incisions or sedation in five or fewer procedures.
The treatment method is not a standard option for patients with advanced stage cancer, but by first treating Thompson’s lung tumor with chemotherapy, doctors were able to shrink the tumor to a treatable size that made CyberKnife a clinically viable treatment option.
“Cancer treatment is a team effort,” Dr. Morris said. “By providing multidisciplinary care and using multiple treatment options for patients, we are extending opportunities that didn’t exist a decade ago.”
St. Louis CyberKnife is a service of SSM Cancer Care at St. Clare Health Center. For more information call 636-496-4660 or visit StLouisCyberKnife.com. This is not intended as medical advice to replace the expertise and judgment of health care professionals. It is intended to help patients make informed decisions, together with their doctor.
CONTACT: Sarah Tiambeng, Zehnder Communications, (504) 962-3731, saraht@z-comm.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140623/120686
SOURCE St. Louis CyberKnife
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