Also known as the “suicide disease,” trigeminal neuralgia is considered to be one of the most painful afflictions known to medical practice. Novalis Tx® now offers help to relieve pain caused by this disorder.

1. January 16, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Tiambeng, Zehnder Communications, (504) 962-3731, saraht@z-comm.com
San Diego Radiosurgery uses Cancer Treatment Technology
to Successfully Treat Rare Nerve Disorder
Also known as the “suicide disease,” trigeminal neuralgia is considered to be one of the most painful
afflictions known to medical practice. Novalis Tx®
now offers help to relieve pain caused by this
disorder.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Though primarily used to treat benign and malignant tumors, stereotactic
radiosurgery is now being used to treat additional medical conditions including a rare nerve disorder,
trigeminal neuralgia (TN).
Excruciating facial pain triggered by everyday activities such as chewing, talking or swallowing
characterizes the rare disease. TN can often be mistaken for a dental problem, since the disorder
usually causes sharp pain in the jaw. Diagnosis sometimes takes several years, as patients may
undergo root canals or tooth extractions in an attempt to relieve their pain.
San Diego Radiosurgery patient Fred Gardner shares his story:
“My jaw started bothering me one day. It would hurt for a period and then return every few months. It
felt a lot like a toothache,” Gardner said.
The disorder can occur when a blood vessel compresses the fifth cranial nerve, one of the largest
nerves in the head. Many times, no cause can be found. As the pain intensifies, patients find
themselves unable to predict what may trigger the next episode.
“A year ago, the pain became so great that I couldn’t even touch the right side of my face, even
though I was taking pain medication every four hours,” said Gardner. “It was the worst pain I’ve had in
my entire life.”
Only when the discomfort persists do many patients seek additional treatment. TN is usually
diagnosed based on a patient’s description of symptoms. Treatment typically involves powerful
painkilling drugs or other antidepressant or anticonvulsive medication. Gardner’s dentist eventually
referred him to San Diego Radiosurgery after the pain became intolerable.
Dr. Lori Coleman, medical director of radiation oncology at Palomar Health, treated Gardner’s TN
similar to how the center’s physician team approaches certain cancers. Using Novalis Tx technology,
Dr. Coleman performed stereotactic radiosurgery, a noninvasive method of treating certain types of
tumors and conditions like TN with high-dose radiation beams delivered in five or fewer procedures.
“To treat a patient with TN, the Novalis Tx precisely focuses radiation beams along a segment of the
trigeminal nerve to interrupt pain-causing fibers,” said Dr. Coleman. “The pinpoint accuracy of the

2. procedure spares healthy tissue and allows us to treat difficult-to-reach targets without surgery or
sedation.”
Immediately after his first treatment session, Gardner was relieved of a nearly decade-long battle with
TN.
“I was able to start eating food I hadn’t eaten in three years,” Gardner said. “The next day I ate about
three bags of Tootsie Rolls.”
TN treatment is typically a one-time, outpatient procedure and is completed within an hour. Though
TN does not have a cure, pain can be reduced or eliminated in about 65 to 85 percent of patients who
are treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.
In addition to trigeminal neuralgia, San Diego Radiosurgery treats cancerous and noncancerous
tumors in many parts of the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, kidney,
adrenal gland, bone and orbit of the eye. The center also treats blood vessel abnormalities such as
arteriovenous malformations.
To find out if you or a loved one may be a candidate for trigeminal neuralgia treatment with Novalis
Tx, request more information. San Diego Radiosurgery is a service of Palomar Health Downtown
Campus and is located at 555 East Valley Parkway in Escondido, Calif. For more information, call
(760) 739-3835.
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