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Latest In Cancer Treatment Found In Bakersfield
CCBC Only Facility In Kern County To Have CyberKnife
POSTED: 6:20 pm PDT May 11,
2009
UPDATED: 10:25 am PDT May 14,
2009
BAKESFIELD, Calif. -- The two times 40-year old Eric Porter was diagnosed with a malignant neurosarcoma, which is a very rare form of cancer, he skipped town looking for the best treatment.Now his cancer has returned for the third time, but this time he weighed his options and found the latest in cancer fighting technology is available here in Bakersfield.The Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center is the only facility in Kern County to offer the CyberKnife. The robotic looking machine delivers radiotherapy targeting treatment more accurately than standard radiotherapy.
"With the regular external beam radiation therapy you treat everyday, five days a week for anywhere from four to seven weeks," said Dr.Ajay Desai, radiation oncologist at CBCC. "The treatment time is anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes. In CyberKnife, the treatment is a little bit longer, an hour or so but it can be given in anywhere from one to five sessions."Because of the size and type of tumor in Eric's pelvic area, he had to undergo three sessions, two to three hours long. Over 200 radiation beams attacked Eric's tumor in hopes to shrink it and stop cancerous cells from spreading.Even though Eric is finished with his Cyberknife therapy, doctor's won't know for about a month how well it worked.
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