Breast Cancer Treatment – Radiation
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Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), our radiation oncologists specialize in both external and internal radiation therapy. Both forms work to eliminate any breast cancer cells that may still remain in your body. Working together with you, our cancer doctors will determine which form of radiation therapy may be best for your breast cancer treatment.
Before external radiation begins, your radiation oncologist and a medical physicist plan your breast cancer treatment by measuring the correct angles to aim the radiation beams at to target a specific area of your body. Three-dimensional conformal radiation, for example, leverages computed tomography (CT) planning to image and reconstruct your breast cancer tumor and surrounding tissue in three dimensions. This allows multiple radiation beams to be precisely shaped to the contour of the tumor and treatment area.
When breast cancer radiation therapy is administered, high-energy X-ray beams focus on the breast cancer tumor. Radiation therapy works by damaging the DNA of breast cancer cells over time, either destroying them or making it harder for them to reproduce. Each radiation treatment lasts for a few minutes and is pain free. While breast cancer radiation is administered, the radiation therapist leaves the room and monitors you on a close-circuit television. You are able to communicate with him or her at any time over an intercom system.
If your breast cancer treatment requires internal radiation, you may be a candidate for MammoSite®, a form of brachytherapy. With MammoSite®, a single catheter with a balloon is placed in the lumpectomy cavity to treat just the tissue around the tumor cavity. MammoSite® uses a single source of radiation and is typically delivered in two treatments a day for five days. MammoSite® is not a recommended breast cancer treatment for every woman. But if you are a candidate, it may allow for a shortened period of radiation.
Innovative and new breast cancer treatments are still evolving to deliver higher radiation doses to cancer cells and limit doses to your normal tissue. Some of the radiation side effects that can be minimized with these techniques include dryness, irritation of the skin of the breast, decreased blood counts (particularly if you are receiving chemotherapy) and fatigue.
CTCA offers the techniques mentioned above along with IMRT, High-Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy and TomoTherapy® to strengthen your fight against breast cancer.
Next Topic: HDR Brachytherapy for Breast Cancer
