To: nothingoutofbounds who wrote (45 ) 12/5/2012 11:42:09 AM From: pleonastic 1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 178 >They knew right away, still went on to other tests to confirm... none of which consisted of a biopsy. Reason being, by opening the tumor it would be more likely to metastasize.< That reminds me of a conversation I overheard long ago at, I believe, a microwave hazards conference. The person speaking was a surgeon and he was discussing his experience with cancer surgery. He grew pretty emotional – visibly pained by what he was recalling. He described a situation – not rare, if I understood him accurately – where parts of the exposed cancer lay around in small pieces in the open wound of the surgery. These were, he said, difficult to reliably remove. And, he posed, how could there be certainty about full removal? Even microscopic pieces could seed metastases. Better: killing the tumor in place avoids the physical disturbance from surgery, and is thus much safer re spreading the disease. Relatedly, RF and microwave “knifes” are now used by surgeons during tumor removal, to zap such – uh, wayward -- pieces of tumors. >The greatest benefit and the point of my story is that if the 180 had been available, I could have been treated almost immediately. They could have treated my arm while monitoring the other “hotspots” and if those had been deemed to be cancerous, they could have also been treated with the 180. No removal of bone, next to no scarring, no bone graphs and no risk of side effects... Believe me, if I had a choice I would have been treated with the 180!!! Not to mention the vast array of cancers that the machines can effectively treat. The potential is just unbelievable.< >Correct me if I am wrong Pleonastic, but the 180 (500 and 2000 as well) does not increase the likelihood or rate of metastasizing. Immediate treatment with no or very small amount of risking further harm is huge. The clock is already ticking when you get a diagnosis, you could not imagine the frustration of waiting and monitoring instead of taking action.< I fully agree. And I wish I had gone to a Cancer Treatment Center of America location to have a small skin cancer removed by one of their BSD-500 machines. Instead, I had the 1 cm patch (large mole, essentially) surgically removed. Result: due to required margins and difficulties in closing round wounds, a 4 to 5 inch long scar. While it is, not very noticeable, due to skillful sewing-up, I would have preferred a less damaging approach.