Brain Tumor - Brain And Spine - Carolinas Healthcare

Research and Advanced Treatment

Neuroscience and Spine Institute
1-800-924-7620

BRAIN TUMOR

The Program
The Brain Tumor Program is a coordinated effort between one of the largest healthcare systems in the Southeast, and the largest neurosurgery practice in the region. Carolinas HealthCare System provides comprehensive medical care for adult and pediatric patients with primary benign tumors, malignant tumors or brain metastasis from another part of the body. The Brain Tumor Program offers some of the latest technical advancements in the treatment of brain tumors. The program also provides extensive support services to both patients and their families.

Coordinated care
By working closely with the patient's referring physician, a multidisciplinary team of specialists evaluate each case to determine the most appropriate course of treatment. Patients receive care based upon input from professionals in the fields of:

Neurosurgery
Neuroradiology
Neuro-oncology
Radiation therapy
Neuropsychology
Physical and rehabilitative medicine
Medical social work

A rehabilitation team provides specialized, comprehensive and intensive inpatient rehabilitation for brain tumor patients as well.

Patient and family support
Nurse clinicians, social workers, psychologists and clergy are available for guidance and counseling to both patients and their families. The Brain Tumor Program also hosts a support group that allows patients and family members to share support and experiences with the guidance of a medical social worker and clinical specialist.

Education programs

Patients - Thoroughly informing each patient about his or her condition is vital. Learning about disease processes and possible treatment options helps give patients a sense of control over their conditions.
Community - Residents of the region are kept informed of the latest advancements available in brain tumor care.
Healthcare professionals - Through newsletters and seminars, area medical professionals receive updated news concerning brain tumors and treatment options.

Stereotactic radiosurgery
Carolinas Medical Center is the only hospital in this region to offer stereotactic radiosurgery including the most advanced approach to stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy available today - Novalis ® Shaped Beam Surgery.
This innovative technology allows the stereotactic team to treat localized lesions previously considered inoperable. Through the use of CT scans, angiography, MRI, specialized radiation delivery systems, and three-dimensional computer modeling, areas of abnormal tissue can be precisely mapped and treated by finely defined radiation beams. The treatment is delivered by a multidisciplinary team including specialists in the field of:

Neurosurgery
Radiation oncology
Radiation physics
Neuroradiology

Intraoperative technologies
A variety of advanced technologies are employed by Brain Tumor Program surgeons to insure safe, minimally invasive and more complete tumor removal, including:

Framed-based and frameless stereotactic techniques (Stealth Technologies)
Intraoperative electrocorticography (brain mapping)
Microneurosurgery
Endoscopic neurosurgery
Protocols for chemotherapy and immunotoxin therapy

For more information about the Brain Tumor Program, call 704-376-1606.




	QUICK FACTS


			Through collaborative efforts with industry and national cooperative research groups, along with local development of treatment protocol, the Brain Tumor Program offers brain tumor patients the most advanced treatment options.

			The Brain Tumor Program is part of Neuroscience and Spine Institute at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.

			Stereotactic radiosurgery is the non-invasive delivery of high-energy focal, high-dose radiation in a single treatment to a tumor or lesion with submillimeter accuracy.

			In stereotactic radiotherapy, non-invasive, high-energy radiation is delivered in multiple smaller doses through a series of treatments over a period of time.

			NSSI is one of only 30 centers in the world to offer Novalis® shaped beam surgery, the most advanced approach to sterotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy available today.

			Novalis has similar single fraction radiosurgery capabilities as a gamma knife, but offers the additional possibilities of repeated treatment over a number of days or weeks. This allows some additional benefit in treating very sensitive areas, or areas that are too large to be treated with a gamma knife.

			Our intraoperative, multidisciplinary approach to brain tumor treatment was developed over an eight-year period by leaders in neuroscience with a commitment to advancing technologies, minimally invasive care and academic research to find new solutions.

			Novalis® Shaped Beam Surgery™ is the most advanced approach to stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy available today. It continuously shapes the treatment to match the size and shape of a tumor from all angles, ensuring the tumor receives the full dose of radiation while healthy tissue stays protected.

			Each year in the United States, more than 100,000 people are diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor.

			Early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of brain metastases may result in remission of brain symptoms and may enhance the patient's quality of life and prolong survival. (Source...)



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