Treatment Process

At SMDC Medical Center, a multidisciplinary tumor board consults on your case. The tumor board, which meets regularly, brings together medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and surgeons from a variety of specialties such as neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, orthopaedic surgery and general surgery. The collective expertise and experience of these Duluth Clinic specialists helps decide if CyberKnife is the best course of treatment for you. During your first visit to the CyberKnife Center, you’ll meet with a nurse and radiation oncologist. They’ll answer your questions and explain the treatment process. The next step is a CT scan to create computerized image of the tumor, which our team will use to develop your individual treatment plan and map the path of CyberKnife’s radiation beams. To help minimize your movement during treatment, our staff

will create a custom mask or body mold. The flexible mesh mask is used for patients whose treatment involves the head or brain. The body mold is like a large bean-bag chair. Both processes are simple and painless.

Treatment near the spine or for other tumors outside the head may require the placement of markers, called fiducials, near the tumor. These small metal markers track the tumor’s position. They’re inserted with a needle in a procedure similar to a biopsy. Your skin can be numbed with a local anesthetic to minimize your discomfort.

On the day of your CyberKnife appointment, you can wear comfortable clothing and bring music or a book on tape to listen to during your treatment. If you wish, you’ll be given a mild sedative to help you relax.

Your care team will include a nurse, a radiation therapist, a medical physicist, a radiation oncologist and your neurosurgeon or surgeon.

You’ll lie on the treatment table and be fitted with your custom body mold or mask. An X-ray will to confirm your exact treatment position, which your radiation oncologist will also verify. Once you’re comfortable, the treatment will begin. The computer-guided robotic arm will move around you, delivering the prescribed dose of radiation. The image guidance system will periodically take X-rays and compare them to your CT scan to ensure the radiation is targeting the tumor.

Depending on the complexity of your case, your treatment will last 30 minutes to two hours.

After your treatment, you will be able to go home. You’ll need someone to drive you if you’ve chosen to take the mild sedative. Most people are able to resume their normal activities. The most common side effect is fatigue.