Cure Brain Cancer Foundation and Elekta presented a virtual event that provided information on radiotherapy treatment and profiled patient experiences, from diagnosis, to treatment and remission.
The collaboration is the first of its kind with Elekta, a leader in precision radiation therapy, which aimed to provide accessible education to patients and their families, regardless of location. This is one example of how Cure Brain Cancer Foundation is mirroring the urgency of our community in our focus to improve survival and quality of life.
The panel on the night included:
[2:19] Stephanie Quattromani, Chief of Staff and Director, Research and Investments at Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, introducing how patients can become informed and empowered to make decisions around their treatment, and the supports available to them.
[7:05] Radiation Oncologist, Dr Neda Haghighi, speaking to brain cancer and brain tumour awareness, diagnosis and metastases, and treatment considerations, including radiotherapy.
[33:00] Debbie Butler, speaking to her personal experience with advanced metastatic melanoma, which metastasised to the brain, and her treatment decisions to date.
[47:05] Dr Jane Phillips, speaking to her personal experience with acoustic neuroma, a benign tumour, and her treatment journey with radiotherapy.
[58:13] Francys Arancibia, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation representative, discussing her connection with Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, as well as research, advocacy, and awareness initiatives of the Foundation.
Q&A – Answered by Dr Neda Haghighi and Stephanie Quattromani
Questions asked:
- Can children have the Gamma Knife treatment? [1:03:20]
- Is Gamma Knife available in NSW or can you go interstate for it? [1:05:40]
- Can you have Gamma Knife radiation if you have already had full brain radiation previously? [1:06:25]
- Is Gamma Knife only available for patients with metastatic brain cancer? [1:07:25]
- Can interstate patients be treated with the Gamma Knife at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, or is this treatment available in other states in Australia? [1:09:00]
- Are there any conjunctive treatments you suggest, e.g., diet, supplements, etc [1:09:40]
- If a patient with over five melanoma metastases has received the Gamma Knife, plus targeted treatment, and new tumours are subsequently found, are there any circumstances under which they wound not receive Gamma Knife again? You mentioned they could receive it again, even same day. [1:10:55]
- Is brain cancer research well supported by Federal Government in Australia? [1:12:25]
- Are there new treatments to note for brain cancer? [1:13:50]
- How do I access clinical trials?[1:13:50]
- Where an MRI shows a very a large primary GBM tumour without clear symptoms over a long time, how likely is it for the tumour to have been there for (say) 10+ years? [1:16:30]
You can watch the webinar below:
