Treatments and Services

Chemotherapy is a medication or combination of medications used to treat cancer. Chemotherapy can be given orally (as a pill) or injected intravenously (IV).

CyberKnife delivers highly targeted beams of radiation directly into tumors, in a pain-free, non-surgical way. Guided by specialized imaging software, we can track and continually adjust treatment at any point in the body, and without the need for the head frames and other equipment that are needed for some other forms of radiosurgery.

This is a type of skull base surgery that either doesn’t require any incisions, or, uses much smaller, hidden incisions than one would need for an open procedure to treat the same type of tumor. Using endoscopes (small cameras that see deep into the body), and special instruments designed for this type of surgery, tumors can be removed. In most cases, entry through the nostrils is enough to perform this delicate, complex surgery. Both cancerous and non-cancerous tumors can be removed in this way. This reduces recovery time as well as the length of time spent in the hospital, and gets a person back to their normal life very quickly. Not every patient is a candidate for endoscopic skull base surgery, but many patients benefit from this advanced surgical method.

In which your surgeon gains access using a series of small band-aid incisions, and performs the procedure with specially made surgical tools that are inserted through incisions.

Patients receive palliative care to control pain and other symptoms caused by the cancer and to relieve the side effects of treatment. There are several methods of pain control, including pain medicines, nerve blocks (a procedure in which alcohol is used to block pain), and complementary therapies (such as massage or acupuncture). Palliative surgery, such as stent placement or bypass surgery, may also be used to relieve bile duct blockage and the symptoms it may cause.

Radiation uses special equipment to deliver high-energy particles, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams or protons, to kill or damage cancer cells. Radiation can be delivered internally through seed implantation or externally using linear accelerators.

BMC's skull base surgery team are experienced in doing what is called an "open procedure." This is a procedure by which tumors are removed using very carefully placed incisions along the face and/or skull to remove a tumor. This type of surgery often has good functional and cosmetic outcomes. Recovery time from open procedures are longer than with an endoscopic approach.