A Kentucky Derby racehorse named after CyberKnife® Radiosurgery, a cancer treatment offered in Southern Nevada by Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
A racehorse in the Kentucky Derby named Cyberknife drew substantial interest from people around the world wondering what that name meant. When looking it up, folks learned just how the technology helps with cancer treatment. And, for those living in Southern Nevada, CyberKnife® Radiosurgery is a familiar name, as Comprehensive Cancer Centers offers it as a treatment for select patients.
CyberKnife® is a painless, non-invasive cancer surgery alternative that uses computer-operated robotics and image guidance technology to treat hard-to-reach tumors. It tracks and destroys tumors in the body or brain while accounting for the patient’s breathing to make treatment simple and effective.
How Did a Racehorse Get Named After a Cancer Treatment?
Al Gold, the owner of Cyberknife, was diagnosed with cancer on his 65th birthday. Healthy his entire life, a biopsy revealed he had prostate cancer. His diagnosis underscores an important message repeated by the team at Comprehensive Cancer: even if you’re healthy and have no symptoms of illness, like Gold, get your regular tests and checkups to find potential issues as early as possible.
Once Gold was diagnosed, he was presented with several options for treatment, including CyberKnife® Radiosurgery. His physician explained that with CyberKnife® the radiation procedure for his cancer would include five treatments that were 18 minutes each.
He described the process as painless and, when he checked out of the hospital, he decided to name the best horse he’d ever had, Cyberknife. Important to Gold was that the story behind the name of his horse could potentially inspire others with cancer in the future to get treated without fear.
While Cyberknife did not win this year’s Kentucky Derby, the horse is continuing to race and is certain to inspire many other people.
What Types of Cancers Can Be Treated by CyberKnife® Radiosurgery?
Types of cancer the technology treats include brain cancer, head and neck cancer, spine cancer, lung and chest cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate and pelvic cancer, and kidney cancer. While the technology can help with these cancers, the application of the treatment is considered and decided upon between patients and their oncologist. Not every treatment works for every patient.
Benefits of CyberKnife® Radiosurgery? Treatment
If your cancer is similar in nature to Al Gold’s you may be able to be treated with CyberKnife. Should that be the case, the following benefits can be found in its application:
- Painless, non-surgical cancer treatment
- Pin-point surgical accuracy
- 1-5 short treatments
- Minimal risk of side effects
- More effective than common radiation therapy for many disease sites
- New hope to patients with inoperable or previously radiated tumors
This technology may also benefit patients who were previously treated with radiation. According to the International RadioSurgery Association (IRSA), body radiosurgery treatments are rare without this advanced technology.
Las Vegas CyberKnife® at Summerlin was made possible through a partnership between Comprehensive Cancer Centers’ radiation oncologists, Select HealthCare Solutions and Summerlin Hospital. The treatment machine is located at Comprehensive’s radiation oncology office located on the campus of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers Can Help
In addition to CyberKnife®, physicians at Comprehensive Cancer Centers provide a variety of treatment options for cancer including world-class clinical research and options such as immunotherapy. To schedule an appointment with the team at Comprehensive, please call 702-952-3350.
The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
