Compare CyberKnife

See how CyberKnife® stands up next to other forms of treatment.

Note: CyberKnife can be effective on its own. However, depending on your unique case, your doctor may recommend combining CyberKnife with other types of treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Talk to your doctor about what course of treatment is right for you.

CyberKnife treatment	Other cancer treatments
Pain
CyberKnife offers a relaxing and pain-free procedure. No scalpels, no chemicals, no discomfort.	Other treatments can bring on the pain and discomfort of surgery and/or extreme fatigue and nausea.
Recovery
After your treatment, which takes 30 to 90 minutes, you are free to go. You will probably feel good enough to resume your daily activities.	Hospital stays and/or extended periods of rest are often required.
During your procedure
You are awake throughout your entire pain-free session. Because CyberKnife adjusts to your body movements, no uncomfortable metal head frame is necessary. We encourage you to bring your own music to enjoy during the treatment.	Other treatments may require anesthesia and extended recovery time. For brain tumors, some procedures may require having your head shaved and bolted into a metal frame to minimize movement.
Follow-up
After your CyberKnife treatment, you are free to go home. Most patients are done with treatment after 1 to 5 sessions. No incisions mean a greatly reduced risk of infection.	You may need to stay in the hospital and come back for multiple visits after discharge. With invasive procedures, there is also a raised risk of infection.
Inoperable cancers
CyberKnife has an unlimited range of motion, so it can treat many tumors that are considered medically inoperable. Because it can track tumors during treatment, damage to healthy tissue is minimal.	Some cancers are too risky to operate on or can't be reached by other forms of stereotactic radiosurgery.

CyberKnife Center

Compare CyberKnife

CyberKnife treatment

Other cancer treatments