After Treatment

When your treatment is complete, the head frame will be removed and a bandage will be applied around the head. This usually removed after one hour. Some patients experience a headache or miror swelling around the pin sites, but most patients report no problems. As mentioned earlier, we recommend that you stay for one more night after treatment, but if you wish you may go home after a few hours. Either way, you should be able to return to work after 2 to 3 days.

Before Treatment

The patients is normally admitted the day before the treatment. After you check into the hospital, our specialist nurse will take care of you and give you a full run down of the entire procedure and what to except. We believe that psychological preparation is important, and may question you have regarding Gamma Knife Treatment will be addressed.

8:00  a.m Attaching the head frame

  Our neurosurgeon, assisted by our nurse, will attach the lighweight stereotastic head frame by four shallw screws under local anaesthesia. The stereotastic head frame is a key component in Gamma Knife surgery. It prevents you from moving during imaging and treatment procedures and allows the doctors to pinpoint the lesion in your brain with extreme accuracy. You might experience som pain durng the local anaesthetic injection and screw application, but that is fact the only pain that might occur durng the whole treatment.


8:30 a.m. Diagnostic imaging

 After the head frame is in place it is time for imaging, which is done by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Three-demonsional imaging is required to determine the exact size, shape and position of the lesion in the brain. During this process, a coordinate box is temporarily placed on the head frame to provide prcise coordinate points of the  will be treating. After imaging, the box will be removed.





9:30 aq.m. Customized treatment planning

once the diagnostic images have been taken, you will return tou your room and served a light meal and you can also restend time with your family if they are present. In the meantime, all you MRI images w transported to the Gamma Knife planning system and the Gamma Knife team will design a specific treatment plant for you. Every patients plan is different and individually designed to address each patient's specific situation. The process usually takes about an hour.

10:30 a.m. The Treatment

Once your treatment  plan is finished, the actual treatmen can begin. You will l;ay down on the treatmen couch and the head frame will be attached to a fixation device at the head of the couch. Once the room is vacated, the dood of the machine will open and t move your head into the collimator system and start the treatment. The couch will continufrom time to time during the entire treatment. You are awake during the whole treatment and will be able to communicate with the team through audio and vidio, as our team monitor the procedure at all times. The procedure is completely painless and silent, and lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the tumor. If you wish, you can listen tou your music of choice.

Treatment

In contrast to what the name suggest, there is no actual knife in the Gamma Knife. Your doctor makes no incisions in your head. Instead 192 precisely focused beams of radiation are directed at your brain lesion. It is called Gamma Knife surgery but is also known as Radiosurgery, or Stereotactical Radiation Therapy. This sergery is often termed invasive surgery to distinguish it from noninvasive radiosurgery or radiation therapy described below.

Radiation therapy attempts to destroy tumor cells by using high-energy radiation focused onto the tumor to destroy the tumors cell ability to function and replicate. Tadiosurgery is a nonsurgical procedure that delivers a single high dose of precisely targeted radiation using highly focused gamma-ray or X-ray beams that converge on the specific area or areas of the brain where the tumor or the other ebnormality is located, minimizing the amount of radiation to healthy brain tissue. Equipment used to do radiosurgery varies in its radiation source' a gamma knife uses focused gamma rays, and aliniear accelerator uses photons, while heavycharged particle radiosurgery uses a proton beam.

Chemotherapy attemps to destroy tumor cells using shemicals (drugs )  that are designed to destroy specific types of cancer cells. There are many chemical agents used; specific drug therapies are numerous, and each regimen is usually dasigned fot yhe specific type of brain cancer and individualized for each patient. For example, bevacizumab (avastin ) is a drug approved for treatment of glioblastomas. Chemotherapy can be administered intrathecally (by a surgically placed permanent reservoir in the brain), by lumbar puncure, by IV administration  and biodegredable chemically impregnated polymers. All treatment attempt to spare normal brain cells.

Other treatment options may include hyperthemia (heat treatments), immunotherapy (immune cells direcdted to kill certain cancer cell types), or steroids to reduce inflammation and brain swelling. These may be added on to the other treatment plans.

clinical trials (treatment plans designed by scientetists and physicians to try new chemicals or treatmemnt methods on patients) can be another way for patients to obtain treatment specifically for their cancer cell type. Clinical trials are part of the research efforts to produce better treatments fo al;l desease types. Stem cell treatments for brain and brain stem cancers and other conditions may be available, because research with patients is ongoing using these potential therapies. The best treatment for brain cancer is designed by the team of cancer specialists in conjunction with the shises of patients.

The treaetments can be simple outpatients procedure, but a patients is usually advised to stay in hospital ivernight. A typical treatment for an Acoustic Neuroma takes about three hours. The recovery time is very short and you can usually go back to your normal lifestyle in two to three days. You do not fell any pain during the treatment, and you are no requeired to shave or cut your hair.

Do cell phones cause brain cancer

There is an on gong concern by a number of people that cell phones cause brain cancer. Some in popular press and some web sites suggest that avoiding cell phone use and using a macrobiotic diet will help avoid braiin cancer. This situation has been exacerbated by a recent ruling to put cell phones on a list of items that 'may' cause cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This was done because the IARC suggested that an increase in gliomas may occur with high use of cell phones. The IARC classified cell phones as group 2b carcunogens; these subtances are considered possibly carcinogenic, but evidence is limited in bith humans and experimental animals. The report does not say that cell phones cause brain cancer.

Currently, many researchers are convinced there is no good evidence for these cancer-causing claims. In December 2010, a large study of about 59,000 cell phone users., with ise times ranging over five to 10 years, indicates that no substantial change in brain cancer incidence could be found in these individuals. Investigators suggest that 'high usage' of cell phones over long time periods is yet to be investigated. With over 5 billion phones in use and no significant increase in gliomas (the most frequent type of brain ) reported worldwide, many investigators think that normal cell use likely causes no harm. However, for those readers who want to minimize any electromagnetic radiation dose from cell phones, the reader can consult the web for a list of phones that produce the highest and lowest radiation levels. In addition, the use of earphones or the speaker function will allow usage without the phone having vlos proximity to the brain.

Brain Cancer Overview

Cancer of the brain are the consequence of abnormal growths of the sells in the brain, Brain cancer can arise from primary brain cells, the cells that from other brain components( for example, membranes, blood vessels), or from the growth of cancer cells that develop in other organs and that have spread to the brain by bloodstrea, (metastatic brain cancer)

• Although many growths in the brain are popularly called brain tumors, not all brain tumors are cancerous. Cancer is a term reserved for malignant tumors.
•  Malignant tumors grow and pread aggressiverly, overpowering healthy cells by taking their space, blood, and nutrients. Like all cells of the body, tumor cells need blood and nutrients to survive. This especially a problem in the brain, as added growth within the closed confines of the skull can lead to an increase in intracranial pressure or the distorion or surronding vital sructures, causing their malfunction.

• Tumors that do not grow aggressively are called benign. Almost aall tumors that begin in the brain do not spread to other parts of the body. The major difference between benign and malignant tumors is that malignant tumors can invaded the brain tissues and grow rapidly. This rapid growth in the confines of the skull can quickly cause damage to nearby brain tissue.

• In general, a bes less serious than a malignant tumor. However, a benign tumor can still cause many problems in the brain, but usually the problems progress at a slower rate than malignant tumors.

sometimes people confuse brain aneurysms with brain tumors. Brain aneurysms are not tumors; they are areas in the brain arteries or veins that are abnormally weak and expand to form a ballooning or expansion of the vessel wall. They seldom produce any symptoms unless they begin to leak blood into the surrounding brain tissue.  Aneurysms may be congenital (present at birth ) or expanded or formed in brain vessels after vessel damage (for example, trauma, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure) but are not formed from cancer cells. Unfortunetely, when aneurysms produce symptoms, they can rese,ble those produced by brain tumors.

Symptoms of Cancer

Cancer symptomps are quite varied and depend on where the cancer is located, where it has spread , and how big the tumors is. Some cancers can be felt or seen through the skin - a lump on the breast or terticle can be an indicator of cancer in those locations.Skin cancer (melanoma) is often noted by a change in a wart or mole on the skin. Some oral cancers present shite patches inside the mouth or white spots on tongue.

Other cancers have symptoms that are less physically apparent. Some brain tumors tend to present symptoms early in the desease as they affect important cognitive functions. Pancrease cancers are usually too small to cause symptoms until they cause pain by pushing againts nearby nerves or interfere with liver funcion to cause a yellowing of the skin and eyes called jaundice. Symptoms also can be created as a tumor grows and phuses againts organs and blood vessels. For example,colon cancer lead to symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, and changes in stoll size. Bladder or prostate cancers cause changes in bladder functions such as mor frequent or infrequent urination.

As cancer cells use the body's energy and interfere with normal hormone function, it s possible to present symptoms such as fever, fatigue, excessive sweating, anemia, and unexplained weight loss. However, these symptomps are common in several other maladies as well. For example, coughing and hoarseness can pint to lung or throat cancer as wll as several other conditions.

When cancer spreads, or metastasizes, additional symptoms can present themselves in the newly affected area. Swollen or enlarged lymph nodes are common and likely to be present early. If cancer spreades to the brain, patientsmay experience vertigo, headaches or seizures. Spreading to the lungs may cause coughing and shorness of breath. In addition, the liver may become enlarged and cause jaundice and bones can become painful, brittle, and break easily. Symptoms of metastasis ultimately depend on the location to which the cancer has spread.

Defintion of Cancer/Tumor

Cancer is a class of desease characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cells that is initially affected.

Cancer Harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissued called tumors (except in the case of leukimia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cells division in the blood stream). Tumors can drow and interfere with the digestive, nerveous, and circulatory systems, and they can release hormones that altern body function. Tumors that stay in one spot and demonstrate limitef growth are generally considered to benign.

cells can experience uncontrolled growth if there are damages or mutations to DNA, and therefore, damage to the genes involved in cell division. Four key types of gene are reponsible for the cell division process: oncogenes tell cells when to devide, tumor suppressor genes tell cells when not to debide, suicide genes control apoptosis and tell the cell to kill itself if something goes wrong, and DNA-repair genes insruct a cell to repair damaged DNA.

Cancer occurs when a cells gene mutations make the cell unable to correct DNA damage and unable to commit suicide. Similarly, cancer is a result of mutations that inhibit oncongene and tumor suppressor gene funtion, leading to unconrollable cell growth.

Abstract

Although seen from the number of events, number of patients with brain cancer is still low, at only six per 100,000 of the patients tumor / cancer per year, but still desease is a 'bogey' for mos people. Because, although such an attack the tumor is type of benign tumor, invade the brain when the level of danger posed is generally larger than the tumors that invade the body.

Growth of body cells that are not normally this is scary. the exact cause of cancer is not precisely known, but various factors have been shown to increase risk of cancer. Risk factors can trigger brain tumors because of family history, radiation, chemicals, diet, certain drugs and cigarettes.

This desease can occur without significant symptoms, but are often characterized by symptoms such as headaches, vomiting, impaired vision, awareness, hearing, walking, and nurves. Unfortunately, so far no definitive treatment, but in line with advances in medical technology and pharmaceutical industries, efforts were made every effort to 'expel' the desease.

Drugs therapy has been used in the treatment of some types of cancer. In addition, other cases may be treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Including surgery is often done, especialy in patients with brain tumors/cancer.

Research on cancer treatment was continued. Sharks have been known to roam the sease around 400 million years ago known morphology dos not change. That said, the body of ths fish, the cancer cells can not grow, because the entire bone is cartilage. Is this true?

In the record books on the efficasy of traditional Chinese medicine food, eating sharks fin is believed to prevent aging skin and gelatin contained in the shark fin is alson believed increase vitality. To be sure, he said this shark fin is delicious. Although the results were disputed by nutrition experts from Taiwan University, Prof. Chang Hung Min who said a chicken's egg is more nutritious than a bowl of shark fin soup, but other researchers revealed positive results.

Researchers from Indonesia who s also Head of the PrimatevResearch Institute of Wildlife Studies, Bogor Agricultural University, DVM Ph.D Dondin Sajuthi recognizes shark cartilage extracts to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels. That he proved through his research.

Doctors Henry Brem and Dr. Allen K Sills of Jhons Hopkins University reported that a compound derived from shark Squalus, shown to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels that supply food to a brain cancer. By usong vascular cells of the central vervoous system of cattle, two researchers are dripping with squalamine. After two days, the growth of blood vessels decreased by 83 %. 

In addition to the shark, bovine cartilage has also been mentioned to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels. About the results, Dr. Greg Harper of the Council dor Scienctific and Research Organization Indutrial has proven it.

Western medcine are increasingly getting bright spots to start the dscovery of drugs that are supposed to bring benefits in the treatment of brain cancer. Various studies is still to be done to fined a drug that has a high effectiveness. But we may hope that the expectations will be more open the treatment of brain cancer.