Changes In The Way Surgeons Fight Cancer

Labratory_2013The audience at Pop! Tech’s annual conference rose to its feet as Dr. Jim Olson wrapped up his talk on Tumor Paint.

“In this world where stadiums are named after rich corporations, where buildings are named after wealthy donors, I wanted to name the most exciting science that I’ve ever participated in after her,” he said, referring to Violet, a patient of his who donated her brain to science shortly before dying.

A pediatric neuro-oncologist, Olson says he has spent too many years explaining why a surgeon may not remove all of a patient’s cancer or, instead, accidentally take part of a child’s healthy brain.

That’s why he and his team created Tumor Paint, a product designed to illuminate cancer cells in the body, helping surgeons distinguish them from healthy tissue.

“The key to brain surgery is to remove the bad stuff and leave the good stuff inside,” says Dr. Rich Ellenbogen, a neurosurgeon who worked to develop Tumor Paint with Olson.

Source: CNN