John Muir Health is privileged to offer a service that is unique for a community-based medical center: A consultative tumor board made up of a team of medical experts who review your individual case and brainstorm the best treatment options for you.
Working in a collaborative environment brings the best minds to bear and assures you of getting the most expert advice and best treatment available.
Gathering every Friday morning in a classroom, the board members listen to the case briefing presented by your neurosurgeon while viewing projected 3D images made of your treatment area by the neuroradiologist.
As a lively discussion ensues, the neuroradiologist scans and zooms in on the part of the brain being considered for treatment. The presiding neurosurgeon mentions how physicians at another institution looking at the same images had a different diagnosis, which everyone in the room agrees was not quite accurate.
A functional MRI (fMRI) appears on the screen depicting a top view of the brain as a grey image with regions of colorful splotches forming an intricate pattern. The neuropsychologist points out, how specific brain functions like vision or memory is being affected by the tumor, giving a deeper understanding of the tumor’s characteristics to the experts in the room.
The medical oncologist brings up magnified images of cells biopsied from the tumor site and points out the mutating cells, indicating what type of tumor it is. The neurosurgeon thinks this patient might be an ideal candidate for stereotactic radiosurgery. The radiation oncologist agrees. Others in the room concur.
When a case is reviewed in this transdisciplinary manner, you are receiving the collective wisdom of many years of experience that draws from a wide knowledge base in the treatment of neurological conditions. At John Muir Health, we believe that a collaboration like this is the best way to treat something as complex and delicate as brain and spinal tumors.