Cyberknife in Korea

Among the countries that offer cyberknife treatment, Korea is in the top 5 of the most number of installed cyberknife systems, and it is also among the first few who did so. Korea takes cancer seriously because of the high occurrence of this disease among its citizens. Here are some facts about this:

• Around 64,000 people die every year in Korea due to cancer.
• More than 100,000 people in Korea are diagnosed with cancer annually.
• Since 1983, the World Health Organization put cancer as the leading cause of death in Korea.
• In 1989, the Korean government started planning initiatives such as the National Cancer Center or NCC to decrease the cancer mortality rate by the year 2015 using various programs and through combined efforts with other cancer control institutions around the globe.

Spine Cancer Detection

Spine cancer patients usually exhibit the following symptoms:

• Upper and lower back pain
• Difficulty in walking, or even staying in an upright position
• Weakness in extremities

Consultation with a doctor usually results to having tests taken, some of which are:

• Thorough physical examination
• X-rays
• MRI
• CT-Scan

Cyberknife Treatment for Spine Cancer

• Tumors in the spine are among the hardest to treat because they move while a patient is breathing.
• Other radiation therapies can therefore not prove beneficial in this regard, as it may damage other surrounding tissues.
• Cyberknife is more accurate in pin-pointing the exact location of a tumor, directly high-intensity radiation beams into the tumor without damaging surrounding tissues and other structures within the spine, all of which are very critical.
• It is non-invasive and does not require surgery, no cutting of skin or tissues are involved.
• Because of the accuracy with which the tumor is attacked, the treatment period is lessened considerably.
• Cyberknife treatments for spine cancer are done on an outpatient basis in 5 days or less, without spending the night at the hospital.
• There is quick recovery time and the side effects are very minimal.