According to the American Cancer Society’s 2025 Cancer Facts & Figures, there will be over 39,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in Missouri this year.
Even though that is still a high number, the death rate from cancer in the United States has declined steadily over the past two decades. Two reasons for the drop are advances in early detection and treatment options. In fact, each year brings advances and more options.
When it comes to fighting cancer, there are often several treatment options to choose from. The type of treatment that may be recommended will depend on the cancer you have and how advanced it is. Some people with cancer will have only one treatment, while others may need a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. You may also have immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy.
At St. Louis CyberKnife, we use radiation therapy in the fight against cancer. Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation is energy that is carried by waves or a stream of particles and it works by damaging the genes (DNA) in cells. Genes control how cells grow and divide, and when radiation damages the genes of cancer cells, they cannot grow and divide anymore. Over time, the cancer cells die.
At our center, we treat early-stage, recurring, and advanced cancer using the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System. CyberKnife is a painless, non-invasive, outpatient cancer treatment with minimal to no side effects. CyberKnife can deliver very high doses of radiation to cancerous and noncancerous tumors with extreme accuracy, allowing physicians to zero in on the target tumor and irradiate it without harming the surrounding healthy tissue. As a result, CyberKnife treatment is more comfortable for patients, radiation is delivered more accurately, and treatments can be completed in one to five sessions.
If you would like more information on treating cancer with CyberKnife technology, please contact our center today.