CyberKnife Stories: Ceil

Watch & learn about Ceil's experience

Ceil's story

In 2006, Ceil Hall got the exciting news that she would be welcoming her eighth grandchild into the world. But there was a problem. Ceil's carpal tunnel syndrome was acting up and Ceil was worried that it would prevent her from holding the family's newest little miracle, scheduled to arrive in just a few short months.

So, Ceil consulted with her doctor and came up with the solution: carpal tunnel surgery.

During her pre-operative testing, Ceil said that her doctor "threw in" a chest x-ray. "There was nothing to indicate I should have one for wrist surgery, but she did it anyway," Ceil recalls.

That x-ray revealed a spot on her lung. It was cancer.

There had been no history of cancer in Ceil's family and she had been symptom-free. In fact, it probably would have been at least another couple of years before symptoms would have appeared. By then, it would have been too late for Ceil.

Surgery was initially recommended. A portion of her lobe would be removed. But this would be a tricky procedure — when you are dealing with your lungs, you cannot sacrifice too much of the structure to surgery. At that point, everyone assumed that traditional surgery would be the route they would take and they hoped for the best. However, fate intervened in her decision making.

"On Christmas Eve, my friend's daughter (a surgical nurse) called and strongly suggested I might want a another opinion." So, Ceil sought out a second surgeon, then her oncologist. The final decision was to treat her with CyberKnife®, a non-invasive procedure for treating tumors or lesions deemed inoperable or untreatable.

Her treatments, all outpatient procedures that brought no unpleasant side effects, occurred in late summer 2007. She describes her experience with a certain degree of disbelief: "There was no nausea, no anesthesia, no recovery from surgery. I just got up after each session and went about my day. In fact, CyberKnife was one of the easiest things I've gone through. It was peaceful. I laid there on the table and slept. I could completely relax because the computer accounted for all of my breathing."

Follow-up PET scans in December 2007 showed that while the lung tumor was responding well to CyberKnife, growths in her adrenal gland and chest wall muscle had appeared. Once again, CyberKnife was used to treat her cancer.

May 2008 brought the news that all tumors were responding to CyberKnife, but once again, there was a new growth. This time it was on her spine. Ceil again chose CyberKnife to treat the tumor.

At the end of 2008, Ceil showed continued progress in treating her cancer. There were no new tumors and the existing growths were continuing to shrink.

Charlie, Ceil's husband of 58 years says, "Before she got cancer, she was positive, strong, healthy and happy. Now, after treatment, she is still positive, strong, healthy and happy. I am so grateful."

"CyberKnife took care of my cancer and let me live me life without one down day," Ceil says. "Who could ask for anything more?"

Next patient story: read Mick's story