If you are looking for an alternative cancer treatment center, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s patient information website, Cancer.Net, has a list of questions you should ask of that center, or any cancer treatment center for that matter. Those questions include:
- How much experience does that center have in treating your type of cancer?
- Who are the experts that will be managing your care?
- How effective are the treatments?
- Does it offer clinical trials?
- Does it take your insurance?
- What support services does it offer?
The experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami, an alternative cancer treatment center in Florida that specializes in stereotactic body radiation therapy or SBRT to treat cancer with precision, fewer side effects and less downtime, couldn’t agree more.
And we’re here to answer those questions and more.
How Much Experience Does CyberKnife Have in Treating Cancer?
CyberKnife Miami is the longest-standing CyberKnife center in the Southeast. Its medical director is Dr. Mark Pomper, a board-certified radiation oncologist with more than 30-years of experience. His team at CyberKnife Miami is equally as experienced. In fact, together they have trained other doctors and medical teams how to use the CyberKnife technology.
CyberKnife Miami treats patients from across South Florida, the state, country and even the world. Many patients come here because they don’t have the technology where they live or because they have learned we are among the most experienced CyberKnife team worldwide.
CyberKnife Miami opened its doors 20 years ago and was the 11th center to open in the United States. Since that time, we have successfully treated thousands of patients.
Who Are the CyberKnife Miami Experts Who Will Be Managing Your Care?
Dr. Pomper and his dedicated staff work closely with patients and their family to make sure everyone understands their treatment plan and exactly what to expect. No questions are left unanswered. We want patients to be confident in the treatment they are getting, how it works, what will happen, before, during and after treatment. We hold your hand every step of the way and even help you with your insurance plan if necessary, travel arrangements and/or hotel reservations.
Cancer is tough to deal with and we want to make this process as easy, simple, and quick as possible. At the same time making sure you’re getting the safest and most effective treatment for your particular cancer, giving you the best chance of beating it.
CyberKnife Miami has even helped patients who were told they couldn’t have any more radiation and patients where tumors were deemed inoperable, like lung cancer patients and lymph node cancer patients.
“A lot of medical or cancer centers that have CyberKnife technology don’t have as much experience as we have using it. So, they get scared when they see a big tumor and think it is not worth treating or are worried about complications. Other doctors feel if it’s incurable why be aggressive?” explains Dr. Pomper. He adds, “We feel and think the opposite. Our philosophy is why not treat it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, including the precious gift of life. Often times we can help these patients.”
How Effective Are CyberKnife Treatments?
CyberKnife can be used to treat prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, some head and neck, and kidney tumors, according to Accuray, the maker of CyberKnife. It can also be used on tumors where surgery isn’t an option or in the case of metastasis.
“CyberKnife is the most refined way to target a tumor and minimize the dose to normal tissue,” says Dr. Pomper on CyberKnife Miami’s YouTube Channel.
CyberKnife is non-invasive. There are no risks of infection like those associated with surgery. In general, a treatment course is much shorter than with traditional radiation. There is no anesthesia, little to no recovery time, and the procedures are done on an outpatient basis.
According to Accuray: “Accurate and precise delivery helps minimize irradiation of the healthy tissues surrounding tumors and potentially the risk of side effects, which may lead to better quality of life for the patient both during and after treatment.”
Does CyberKnife Offer Clinical Trials?
Accuray is on the forefront of research and clinical trials.
Check out its current list of clinical trials for everything from lung cancer to pancreatic cancer.
Dr. Pomper and his staff are constantly reviewing the research from these trials and from other cancer experts across the globe to make sure they know about all the latest CyberKnife breakthroughs and all cancer treatments options and trials currently available to patients.
Does CyberKnife Take Insurance?
The short answer here is yes, including Medicare. Our billing experts work with our patients and their insurance companies to make sure navigating the insurance maze is as easy as possible.
What Support Services Does CyberKnife Miami Offer?
According to CyberKnife’s Vice President of Operations and radiation therapist, Gail Suarez, CyberKnife Miami offers many support services from working with specialists to helping you get your scans done as quickly as possible and/or in a timely manner.
“When there is a question about your diagnosis, our doctors will call their colleagues to help define the best treatment options for you. It is important to get differing opinions about a case to ensure that all is being done to get you back to health,” Ms. Suarez says. She adds, “Our office works with you to make the process as easy as possible.”
The CyberKnife Miami team will review a patient’s records prior to the appointment so you get the answers you need at your appointment time and even before it. We can typically schedule a consultation within a day or two of your call because cancer is scary, and we don’t want our patients waiting and worrying.
Speaking of calls, we always pick up the phone. And if for some reason we can’t, we call you back right away, so leave a message.
We try to make this process as easy as possible once you walk through our doors because you have a lot to deal with when you’re diagnosed with cancer.
CyberKnife Miami: Alternative Cancer Treatment Center in Florida
At CyberKnife Miami, we partner with our patients through their medical journey. We understand patients have choices and that there are sometimes different treatments for the same problem. Whether that is CyberKnife or not. We’re here to guide our patients and provide second opinions in many cases.
Our goal is to get you back to your normal life – cancer free and to help make your quality of life the best it can be while you’re going through cancer treatment.
If you would like to find out more about treatment with CyberKnife, call us at 305-279-2900 or go to our website now for more information. www.cyberknifemiami.com.