St. Ansgar man has new kind of cancer surgery

An article from last July, which also gives more details on the practical use of Cyber Knife:

>>A robotic arm delivers a high dose of radiation that will kill or control cancerous cells without harming surrounding healthy tissue. Previously unreachable tumors can now be treated with the new method.

Patients for the surgery lie on a table with a soft pad. Generally no sedation or anesthesia is required because the procedure is painless. Radiation sessions last from 1 to 2 hours.

If all goes well, patients undergo the treatment and can immediately resume their normal activities.

On Aug. 8, he had his first radiation surgery treatment which lasted 2½ hours. Separate treatments the next two days lasted about two hours each.

“After my last two-hour sessions, I could have gotten up off the table and driven home,” said Libersky. “It was truly that painless.”

Libersky has been back to Des Moines for check-ups several times.

“They showed me my CT scan and it shows nothing but scar tissue where the cancerous spot was,” he said. “I went back at three months, then another four months, then it will be six months, then a year,” he said.

“So far the prognosis has been excellent. The results look good and I’m feeling good and gaining weight.”