What is the difference between conventional radiation therapy and stereotatic radiosurgery?
Conventional radiation therapy (radiotherapy) administers a broad beam of radiation from one to two directions in 30 to 45 treatments. It delivers low-dose beams of radiation over a period of 6 to 8 weeks – the time required to allow healthy tissue damaged during treatment to recover. CyberKnife radiosurgery delivers high-dose beams of radiation – which can be more effective in killing tumors anywhere in the body. This system can deliver radiation beams from virtually unlimited directions with sub-millimeter accuracy. With radiosurgery, damage to surrounding healthy tissue is minimized; therefore, the treatment can be completed typically in one to five sessions.
