Killing Breast Cancer Faster! -- Research Summary

BACKGROUND:

About one in every eight women in the United States will experience breast cancer in their lifetime. Each year approximately 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and around 40,000 women will die from it. Second to lung cancer, breast cancer is a major cancer that will cause deaths (Source: National Breast Cancer Association).
TYPES:
There are two types of Breast Cancer:

Ductal Carcinoma: Starts in the tubes (ducts) that move milk from the breast to the nipple. Most breast cancers are this type.

Lobular Carcinoma: Starts in the parts of the breast called lobules that produce milk.
TREATMENT:
The three main treatments for breast cancer are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. The chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells, the radiation therapy is used to destroy cancerous tissue, and the surgery is used to remove cancerous tissue. There are two types of surgery, a lumpectomy removes the breast lump, and a mastectomy removes all of part of the breast and possible nearby structures.(Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

In the past, radiation has been administered to a patient’s "entire" breast (whole breast radiation) via external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). EBRT treatment is delivered to the tumor site via a radioactive beam from outside the patient’s body on a daily basis over an approximate 7 week time period. Recent studies have shown that in most cases, limiting radiation to just "part" of the breast (partial breast radiation) is equally as effective and causes less injury to surrounding healthy breast tissue. (Source:http://www.cetmc.com)

NEW TECHNOLOGY:
Brachytherapy is a procedure that involves placing radioactive material inside your body. Brachytherapy is one type of radiation therapy that's used to treat cancer. Brachytherapy is sometimes called internal radiation. Brachytherapy allows doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation to more-specific areas of the body, compared with the conventional form of radiation therapy (external beam radiation) that projects radiation from a machine outside of your body. Brachytherapy may cause fewer side effects than does external beam radiation, and the overall treatment time is usually shorter with brachytherapy. (Source: mayoclinic.com)

Brachytherapy is the quickest, most direct and conformal way to deliver the radiation to the target. High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for breast cancer is usually administered as a complete course given twice a day for a total of 5 days on an outpatient basis. There are two methods of brachytherapy depending upon the size and location of the tumor in relationship to the size and shape of the breast. One is known as "Tube and Button" and the other is referred to as "Balloon Catheter" or "Mammosite".(Source: http://www.cetmc.com) MORE

Killing Breast Cancer Faster! -- Research Summary | Medical News and Health Information

third step:
Killing Breast Cancer Faster! -- In Depth Doctor's Interview | Medical News and Health Information