Cyberknife Radiotherapy in India
Cyberknife Surgery Cost in India: US $8,000 ~ $11,000
{the cost covers all destination medical & logistics costs}
India is one of the few countries where cyber knife cancer radio surgery treatment is available. Based on radiosurgical principals, Cyberknife surgery is a frameless robotic radiosurgery system that delivers a stereotactic radiotherapy with the intention to treat cancer patients more accurately than standard radiotherapy.
Invented by John R. Adler, a Stanford University Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiation Oncology, Cyber knife treatment for cancer uses multiple and high dose of radiation, so that doctors can precisely aim at a tumor without damaging healthy body tissues. No anesthesia is required, no hospitalization and minimal post operative care.
Cyber knife surgery is a new cancer treatment procedure and is therefore uncommon and a tad expensive. It is the only radiosurgery system to bring together a linear accelerator, a robotic arm and the image guidance system. With its unique capabilities, Cyberknife can target lesions and tumors that might be considered unreachable by other radiosurgery systems.
It is also the only system that can continually monitor and adjust in real-time for patient movement during treatment. Also, due to its precision, Cyberknife treatment for cancer targets the damaged region only without harming or affected the surrounding tissues or regions.
On this page, we will throw some light on Cyberknife surgery, treatment of cancer with Cyber knife and provide a brief overview of Cyberknife surgery in India.
Radiosurgery and How Cyberknife is Different from Other Systems
Although Radiosurgery has been used for over 30 years to treat both cancerous and benign tumors and growths, Cyberknife is a very new concept and different than its counterparts. Radiosurgery does not remove the tumors, rather it uses high doses of radiation to destroy the tumor cells and stop the growth of active cells. Multiple beams of radiation produced by a linear accelerator are directed at the abnormal growth within the body.
Various radiosurgery systems are available, the most most widely used being the Gamma Knife and modified linear accelerators. Cyberknife’s distinction advantage over the other options is its precision, which enables physicians to maximize the amount of radiation that reaches the tumor or abnormal growth while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue and organs.
Cyberknife Treatment Procedures
Cyber knife treatment works in mainly two ways. In the first methodology, lightweight radiation delivery equipment is inserted on a multi-jointed robotic arm, so that it can be easily reach tumors in any part of the body. In the second method, the technique uses image guidance system, which allows the Cyberknife therapy to track and allocate the tumor.
CyberKnife uses image guidance and robotics to maintain a high degree of precision and is particularly useful for tumors that are close to critical structures.
The biggest advantages which the Cyber knife treatment offers are that no anesthesia is required, no hospitalization and no cuts or incisions at all. This means that there is no recovery time and everyday activities can be resumed immediately. Also, the treatment is undertaken in 1 to 6 sessions, which can be performed on either the same day or different days, as per the patient’s convenience.
What Does Cyberknife Surgery Treat?
The Cyberknife system has FDA clearance for treatment of tumors in any location of the body. Cyberknife surgery is administered for both cancerous and benign tumors. All stages, from I until IV (metastases) can be treated.
Following are treated using Cyberknife system:
- Cancers involving the brain
- Lung cancers
- Pancreatic cancers
- Metastatic liver cancers
- Cancers involving the spine
- Benign brain tumors
- Malformations of blood vessels within the brain
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Metastatic orbital tumors, orbital lymphomas and orbital inflammations (tumors or inflammations around the eye)
Cyberknife Treatment Cannot be Used
For tumors or metastases bigger than 3-4 cms., in which case they are treated via a similar radiotheraphy called IMRT( or Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy), which is not as precise as Cyberknife but the results are good if the tumors are not solid.
Benefits of Cyberknife Surgery
Cyber knife treatment of Cancer is an extirely new approach and offers many advantages over other methods. It is a noninvasive alternative for patients who are not ideally suited for or are unable to undergo traditional surgery. The benefits include:
- No anesthesia
- No pain
- No incisions
- No bleeding
- Immediate return to normal routine
- Completely frameless
- No hospitalization
- Minimal radiation exposure to healthy tissues and organs
- Even if tumors have received the maximum allowed dosage of radiation, they can still be treated.
Cyberknife Surgery Abroad
Cyberknife treatment for cancer is a relatively new treatment option, and is thus both rare and expensive. One good news for all those patients who have been craving this treatment but are scared about the expenses is that medical tourist centers in India offer Cyberknife surgery at costs which are a fraction of what one would find in the US.
The treatment is at par with what one would find in the western nations and utmost professional care is provided both before and after the surgery.
Cyberknife Cancer Treatment in India: A New Hope for Patients
There was a time, when cancer patients from India were flying to other countries for their treatment but thanks to hospitals in India, which has introduced the most advanced Cyberknife Radio Surgery System in Asia Pacific, things are now the other way around.
Now, cancer patients from all across the world can receive Cyberknife cancer treatment in one of India’s best hospitals. The technology is much advanced and the cost is a fraction of what you would find in the US (http://mtctheme.medicaltourismco.com/oncology/Cyberknife-cancer-radiotherapy-overseas.php).
Cyberknife surgery in India is offered at a greatly reduced costs. But this does not mean a compromise on the quality at all. Also, due to the reduced costs, patients can opt for a longer hospital stay.
When going in for a Cyberknife treatment in India, there is one thing which you should keep in mind. Hospitals in India usually require a PET CT scan reports or MRI images before they can provide an estimate and accept the patient.
Cyberknife Surgery Cost in India
A Cyber knife operation can cost anywhere between $25,000-$65,000 in the US which is quite expensive for most of patients. Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, a Cyberknife surgery for cancer treatment in India will cost around Rs. 500,000 (around US $10,000-$11,000), which is still a fraction of what one would pay back home.
So far, more than 50,000 patients worldwide have been treated by the Cyberknife System (http://www.accuray.com). Cyberknife treatments abroad are a much cost effective option, and while the number of centers providing such treatments is few, they are high quality and technologically advanced.
Many world countries are today emerging as important centers for medical travelers. In addition to affordable costs, these offer high quality treatment and facilities.
Whatever destination you choose, make sure that the place is worth your time, money and effort and the doctors are well equipped to handle your case effectively. If unsure, partner with a good medical tourism source and let them take care of everything while you sit back and relax!
Cyberknife Surgery Resources
Cyberknife Surgery in Turkey, Europe
Cyberknife Surgery in Korea
Medical Tourism Corporation facilitates low cost Cyberknife Surgery in India & Turkey. Fill out the free estimate request form for a free quote & more information.
