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Don Davidson said he wakes up every morning happy to be alive, thanks to the CyberKnife technology, funded entirely by donors, at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre.

In July 2011, Don Davidson was feeling fine, but saw his doctor in Kingston about the lump on his neck. The results stunned him.

Davidson was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma that had spread to his brain. He underwent whole-brain radiotherapy to destroy three tumours. The procedure was unpleasant, and the side effects were horrendous: drastic weight loss, nausea, dizziness, extreme fatigue, and lack of strength and mobility. His September follow-up appointment revealed three additional brain tumours. His prognosis was grim. The doctors gave him three to five months to live.

By chance, Davidson learned of a new treatment option: the CyberKnife. This robotic arm delivers high doses of radiation to disintegrate tumours in inoperable places, such as the brain. CyberKnife radiosurgery is so precise that it destroys the tumour without harming healthy tissues surrounding it. And it was available at only two hospitals in Ontario; one was The Ottawa Hospital.

“I got a referral from my physician for a CyberKnife treatment the next day, and came up to Ottawa,” said Davidson.  

After the 45-minute painless procedure, Davidson went home and experienced no side effects whatsoever.

Follow-up imaging showed that the tumours were gone. However, in 2015, an MRI revealed that Davidson had a melanoma spot on his brain, and he received another short CyberKnife treatment, which again destroyed the tumour.

Unfortunately, this past April, Davidson suffered a serious setback. He suffered some cognitive impairment and had to undergo a craniotomy while awake to remove some dead tumour cells from his brain. A few weeks after being released from hospital, he fell and broke his hip. Recovery from both operations was then delayed by pneumonia. However, in September an MRI showed his brain was healing well and there was no trace of his cancer.

Davidson is now back to being a healthy 78-year-old who is not on any medications. This is a remarkable outcome for someone who, five years ago, was given only a few months to live.  Davidson credits the phenomenal care he received from the staff at The Ottawa Hospital for giving him his quality of life back, and is looking forward to spending the winter golfing in Florida.

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