What are the basic differences between Gamma Knife and Cyber Knife?

[Windsong]

Hi Jackie,

Sorry you had to join the club of Aners. But it sounds like you are doing the "check it all out" thing re your choice of treatment and  it is good that you do have a choice.

Whoever your Ent is at the hospital, he/she quoted you some good statistics for my thinking. If you reverse that percentage, you were told a 95% success rate for the issues mentioned. That sounds pretty good to me. I don't know your age so the 30-40 years down the line thing isn't something i can comment on, except to say that like you yourself said, the scare of cancer according to my own searches is practically zilch and is very much like results from thsoe who had surgery also....

Note that in your own quote, you said you were told "there is a very remote" chance and from my own reading it is remote.

Have you joined the ANAC board in Canada? and have you looked at the cyberknife board too? i found them helpful as well as this one along with all my other research.

I myself am in the post treatment stage lol after fsr. I chose it because it felt right for me.

There are great doctors in TO,   in all treatment areas.  Good luck in your decision making.

Windsong

[tony]

The Radiation-to-cancer type information is often misleading for at least 3 reasons :
One - it tends to be spouted by conventional surgeons, who in most cases wouldnt know how
to switch the machine on.(there is a big divide here in the medical community)
Two - it takes no account of the falling doseage used - if you look over the 10-20 yrs time frame
the total doseage has halved for any given treatment - so any long term study is based on rather
greater exposures which are not used today
Three -systems  like the gamma knife use a process where the entry and exit concentrations
are very low - its only on the AN where the beams are focused (by three dimensions, by computer) that the beams are powerful enough
Sometimes you meet a new life form - a surgeon who also does radiotherapy
I tend to think you getter a better" balanced" view from someone who is sitting
on the fence.
And finally of course, its your choice to make which is best for you
best regards
tony

[Jackie canada]

Hi
Many thanks for your reply, it helped settle the nerves/panic - especially when you hear the "C" word!

I got my second consult with the microsurgeon tomorrow so feel a bit tense, keep having to remind myself to move my shoulders down from my ears and breath .  This is a rollercoaster ride, some days I feel things could be a lot worse and I need to just get on with it and other days its hard to focus on anything else.  I even had AN dreams!! Most people who know me would say there's always been something wrong with my head
Thanks again

[tony]

I dont doubt your emotions or feelings for a moment - perhaps all of us, feel/have felt that way about it at one stage or another. To you, and all others out there that are pre- treatment
I would say again - this is first and foremost, a Mental battle.
The state of mind is important now.
Its most important to focus your mind - the mantra should be "I WILL get better"
"Jackie Gets Well !"
- there are loads of people on this list who will help if you need it
Get well Soon
Best Regards
Tony

[ppearl214]

Hi JackieCanada and welcome.

I know of this roller coaster ride very well.. and only share this link with you to help you with this "ride"... it was my ride as well and I shared it publically here (this past February when I was in your shoes as well) to help others, like yourself, in holding on during your/their ride... when you read the first 2/3's, you'll understand. I hope it helps.

http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=847.0

Phyl

[Jackie canada]

Thanks so much for the link, there's an incredible amount of info and encouragement there

I've been taking a few days off - trying not to think of my AN, treatment options, etc., to gain some prospective on life!!  I don't know if its worked entirely, but I'm feeling a little for centred.

So many many thanks again.  On another note you mentioned headaches.  I have been suffering from headaches for a while and they've been getting worse and more frequent.  I have facial numbness, and some hearing loss, which seem par for the course, but when I mentioned the headaches the surgeon seemed skeptical that they were to do with my AN.  Do you have any thoughts or experience on this? 
Jackie

[ppearl214]

Hang tough Jackie.. and yes, LOTS of encouragement there and here. We're all in this together!

Phyl

[Larry]

On the radiation of AN's causing cancer, even the odds you mention is unsubstantiated. As times move on, more stats and a better understanding of AN's is known. I recently read a report on mobile phones and AN's (another one) that did show an increase in risk from excessive use of the old analog phones over a 10 year period. the incisdence of AN's was higher. The report also mentioned that the radiation treatment may not have been the catalyst for making an AN malignant.

We won't know for sure about the causes of malignancy re AN's for probably another 10 years.


Larry

[ppearl214]

heck,  too many things in our lives/environment (including many foods that we eat) can bring it on as well. For me (and only me), I refuse to be an ostrich with my head in the sand and worry about the dose of radiation I rec'd via CK as anything else in life can give me cancer. I refuse to be scared or nervous about it when life's too short and time to live it. But, like I say, that's only my opinion.

[Larry]

Jackie, welcome to our very exclusive club.

As for advice, you will get a number of opinions from a number of people. Every solution be it surgical or radiation treatment has worked for some and not for others. I am now recomending that people listen, do the research so reasonably well informed and then go with your gut feel and what you are mentally capable of handling.

My situation. I had middle fossa surgery 3.5 years ago. Have had debiliatating headaches and tinnitus every day since. 6 months ago, I found out that it had grown back. I am now in watch and wait mode. I can emotionally handle this (with lotsa help from my cyber buddies). When it grows to a bigger size then I will be having radiation treatment (Gammaknife) I will not go under the knife again!

Other posters can't handle the watch and wait (I fully understand this), other posters won't go near radiation treatment. You also need to factor in any current problems that your AN is causing.

Laz