Our Treatment Process
Step 1: Consultation
At this appointment, you will meet your treatment care team. Your team will consist of the CyberKnife
® radiation oncologist, your nurse coordinator, medical physicist, radiation therapists and may include other
members of our care team
Step 2: Imaging
Your CyberKnife
® physician may order an onsite CT scan to identify precise location, size and shape of the tumor or tumors for treatment. Additional imaging, such as MRI or PET scan, may also be required. These studies
will help us customize your treatment plan to deliver the most accurate treatment possible.
Step 3: Marker Placement
Patients with tumors in the chest, abdomen, pelvis or other areas surrounded by soft tissue may require a short outpatient procedure for marker placement. Using sterilized needles, tiny gold seeds called fiducials are implanted
to use as a point of reference and help accurately guide the CyberKnife
®’s radiation beams. Although the fiducials are permanent they are harmless and unnoticeable.
Step 4: Simulation
About a week after the markers are placed, you’ll have a fitting of the supportive positioning devices that provide comfort and support during treatment. Next you’ll have a final CT scan with this equipment in place.
Step 5: Treatment Planning
Your treatment team will carefully review the imaging scans and plan your CyberKnife
® treatment. You do not need to be present for this step.
Step 6: CyberKnife® Treatments
You will return to the Saint Francis Hospital for treatment that will last between 1 to 5 treatment days. You may want to consider having a friend or relative accompany you to lend support.
For Patients
At the Saint Francis Healthcare, we put patients first.
From the moment you schedule your initial consultation to the completion of your treatment, our focus is on providing you with an environment of comfort and ease.
Compassion isn’t just a word we toss around lightly; it’s something that each member of our expert staff truly feels for every patient who walks through our door.
We understand that a cancer diagnosis means you’re in for the fight of your life. As a Saint Francis patient, we want you to remember that you’re not in that fight alone.
Our doctors, our nurses and even the CyberKnife® itself are all right there with you-and there is strength in numbers. Together, we’ll take a team approach to providing you with the best possible care, and do everything in our
power to get you back to what’s important to you.
For Physicians
Have patient in mind for a referral? Call us at 901-765-2050 for any questions you may have
