life at...50 something
MammoSite®
Breast Cancer Treatment
By Alison Mishkit, M.D. and Erna Busch-Devereaux, M.D.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) reports that the majority of women who develop breast cancer are over the age of 50. Fortunately, due to increased awareness and early detection through routine mammograms, (which the ACS recommends women begin at the age of 40) most patients are now diagnosed in the early stage. Those diagnosed with early-stage cancer not only tend to receive favorable prognoses, but they are also eligible for minimally invasive, less time-consuming treatment options.
MammoSite® 5-Day Targeted Radiation Therapy (TRT), a form of partial breast irradiation (PBI), allows many patients with early-stage breast cancer who are candidates for a lumpectomy (surgical removal of a breast tumor) to receive a full course of targeted radiation in just five days. This is a remarkable advance, as traditional radiation may require six weeks of daily treatment to complete. In addition to its short treatment time, the MammoSite treatment targets radiation to the area where tumors are most likely to recur, while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue.
MammoSite was cleared by the FDA in May 2002 and more than 35,000 patients have received the treatment. Thanks to early detection, some doctors believe up to 100,000 women a year could benefit from MammoSite.
For women leading busy lives, juggling career and family, MammoSite provides a more convenient option by allowing patients to complete radiation therapy (a critical element of breast cancer treatment) within a week, usually with minimal side effects.
To learn more, go to VoicesOfMammoSite.com and read the inspiring stories of breast cancer survivors who received
this treatment.
STUDY FINDINGS
In the first clinical study on the use of MammoSite® Targeted Radiation Therapy presented in May 2007, five-year data showed that there were no local recurrences of cancer in the patients who completed follow up. Good to excellent cosmetic outcomes were achieved in 83.3 percent of the study patients. The study also evaluated patient acceptance of the procedure. Survey
results showed that 100 percent of patients said they would recommend MammoSite to a friend or family member, and all patients said they would use MammoSite again if they had to do it over.
Consult your physician to learn more about the MammoSite treatment for early-stage breast cancer.
—Mishkit & Busch-Devereaux
Drs. Alison Mishkit and Erna Busch-Devereaux are surgeons
at Breast Surgery Associates in Huntington.
|
