[Joe]

Marie,
This should cheer you up:

Surgery without a knife

Gamma Knife is a very precise and effective instrument that uses radiation to treat the brain and is often called radiosurgery. Using this method, doctors are able to focus radiation directly, and very precisely, on the target in the brain without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.
Studies show strong treatment success rates; for example, local control (successful treatment of a specific site) of tumors in any brain location exceeds an average of 85%. And, despite the name, there is no blade or knife – it’s called Gamma Knife because radiosurgery (one-session treatment) has such a dramatic and precise effect in the target zone that the changes are considered ‘surgical.’ So there’s no incision or blood, and minimal risk of complications.