Thank you for the presentation. I'm interested to know if there have been any associations of lifestyle with tumor growth. For example, many people say that incorporating a carnivore diet, particularly in terms of limiting sugar intake, can have a drastic effect on slowing growth. Also, have there been any reports of success in stopping growth homeopathically? Finally, for tumors smaller than 3cm, the standard treatment in the UK seems to be stereotactic surgery. However, in the US, surgical resection is much more common for tumors of all sizes. Why is that? Thank you for your time and expertise! Brian
Whilst there is no conclusive evidence of diet having a noted effect on Schwannomas / Neuromas, eating healthily is a good way to improve and maintain your wellbeing and quality of life. Although there is no current evidence, people may feel an overall positive benefit with taking this approach. With regards to the different international approaches to treatment, there are different medical methods for many conditions across the globe which often have roots in local medical tradition, approved practice, access to treatment modalities and treatment funding. Tumour size does define the medical approach taken with neuromas, with surgery often preferable for large lesions even if used primarily as a debulking step before radiosurgery. Radiosurgery in many nations is increasingly the treatment of choice for small to medium sized acoustic neuromas. Whilst tumour control rates following radiosurgery are comparable with those surgery, post-treatment complications and morbidity are often observed to be significantly less frequent with radiosurgery than those that can be encountered after surgery.
@@amethystukradiotherapy thank you very much for the thorough response. My VS is 11x5 mm contained in the auditory canal. I'm really leaning toward GK. But I also have a 5x6 suspected subependymoma in the 4th ventricle. Would that second tumor influence my choice of treatment of the VS at all?
@@u_s_a_cards Please feel free to email us at contactme@amethyst-radiotherapy.co.uk or call +44 (0) 203 941 6395 to speak to our team. We understand the importance of addressing individual concerns comprehensively, and our experts are ready to assist you in the best possible way
Gamma Knife is used exclusively for the head, and uses a stereotactic frame or mask fitted to the patient’s head as a localiser. The treatment is delivered using 192 radiation beams from cobalt sources. Cyberknife uses a small high powered x-ray generating system (linear accelerator) on a robotic arm which can cover the whole body using image guidance. Both systems are very conformal to the tumour volume and can treat benign and malignant tumours. Gamma Knife treatment tends to be delivered in a single dose (fraction), whereas CyberKnife treatments are usually delivered in short cycles of 5 fractions or so, which is significantly less than treatments delivered with a standard radiotherapy linear accelerator.
