Non-invasive surgery using cutting-edge technology to cure tumours and cancer was tested on legendary South African cricketer, Clive Rice. His condition after one month was jaw dropping!
Usually people with cancerous tumours take years to complete (or never complete) the emotional ride, but former South African all-round cricketer and Proteas captain Clive Rice (65) successfully completed his tumour treatment in one month.
After collapsing in his home late February this year, scans confirmed Rice had a brain tumour which was too deep for neurosurgeons to remove it with invasive surgery.
Within the next few day Rice was on his way to Bangalore, India to receive innovative robotic radiation treatment called ‘Cyberknife laser surgery’ at the Health Care Global Hospital. The machine, with the help of pioneering software, pinpoints the exact position of the tumour after which the linear accelerator sends out multiple high dosages of radiation beams targeted at the affected area. The collective energy of the beams attack the cancerous tissue with minimal effect on healthy organs.
VIDEO: CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery
Rice had three treatments, each an hour long. The doctors tied him to a table to keep him from moving and let the machine float around to do the rest.
With this new advanced technology doctors are also able to treat small effected areas accurately with the built-in X-ray cameras that monitor the patient’s breathing.
The procedure “offers hope to cancer patients with tumours which are otherwise inoperable due to their proximity to major blood vessels or sensitive organs,” said Rice’s radio oncologist, Dr Srivani Sridhar.
According to Sridhar, this safe and pain free method can be used to treat a range of tumours, cancers and benign diseases, including the liver, lungs and bones.
Sridhar recommends this method particularly for inoperable and recurring tumours, to reduce the treatment time significantly.
Rice was told by South African doctors that he was going to die, but through this treatment he received a new breath of live. He said he woke up every day feeling better and labelled the success of the treatment a ‘miracle’.
People around the world are excited and optimistic about beating cancer with this cutting-edge technology. There is no question that hospitals around the world should have at least one of these machines. The real question is, how much does this kind of treatment cost?
Published: The News Hub on 02 July 2015
Journo Junky 