Cyberknife Consult

So here we go again…

A day of CT scans and funny masks.  It sure feels like we’re pro’s at this.  I won’t bore you all with redundant information.  See my past post Cyberknife Consult from May 2009 for more details if you are so inclined.

We met with a new doctor.  I’ll be sure not to say anything overly deragatory since I gave the doctor this blog address.  Although I enjoy the personal and semi-private venting oppurtunities this blog allows me, I thought it may also give the Doctor a bit more insight into Satomi’s history.  I really hope she doesn’t rat me out for my opinions last time.  (:>) 

The doctor was young but obviously intelligent and quite knowledable with the Cyberknife process.  She was very personable and seemed to take a personal interest in Satomi’s care.  That was important since we really didn’t have any notable technical questions.  Our entire concern revolves around the side effects from the treatment and the frickin Decadron that she may have to take to keep her brain from exploding.  In the present situation I guess that’s not funny.

After our discussion there were several details of the treatment and diagnosis that actually seemed positive.  The tumor is located in her lower left cerebellum and is somewhat near the surface.  While it is somewhat adjacent to the original tumor, it is in a much less dangerous location.

The smaller size (1.0cm versus 1.6cm) of this tumor and its location makes treatment much simplier.  There will only be one one-hour Cyberknife session (as opposed to the five two-hour sessions we had last year).  The doctor is optimistic that the side effects and need for Decadron will be less this time around.

The Cyberknife machine has been replaced with a newer model.  The new machine has only a vague resemblance to its predecessor.  It’s radiation output and accuracy has increased.

Coincidentally, the new tumor is located along the path of the original surgery through the surrounding brain tissue.  In other words, the new tumor is located in between the incision site and the original tumor.  I’ll have to do some digging into this but it may be possible that this new tumor site became contaminated with some stray cancer cells during their removal during the first operation.  While this is far from good, it could explain this new tumor and suggest that the original cancer is still under control.

The treatment is scheduled for Thursday.