Breast brachytherapy, a proven, advanced treatment program, is one of Cancer HealthCare Associates’ (CHCA) areas of specialization. We treat hundreds of patients every year, and we have earned a reputation for delivering consistently successful outcomes.

Brachytherapy involves providing internal radiation to the breast several times during a five-day period. Treatments are completely painless and provided on an outpatient basis so our patients can go home and continue most of their normal activities immediately after therapy.

Many women prefer brachytherapy because the entire treatment takes five days, whereas traditional treatments take five weeks to seven weeks. In addition, with brachytherapy significantly less radiation reaches the rest of the body, including skin, lungs, heart, ribs and healthy parts of the breast. This is because the radiation dose is narrowly focused in the specific part of the breast where the tumor was removed.

First, Martin E. Keisch, MD, a board-certified radiation oncologist, conducts tests to determine whether our patient is a candidate for regular breast brachytherapy or for the new MammoSite Radiation Therapy System.

The Mammosite, FDA-approved in 2002, is a device used to deliver radiation therapy after a woman undergoes a “lumpectomy,” or surgical removal of a cancerous tumor. It delivers radiation from within the cavity, which was created after the cancerous tumor was removed, directly to the tissues around the cavity where tumors are most likely to recur.

Here’s an overview of the procedure: During or shortly after a lumpectomy, Dr. Keisch uses a 3D ultrasound to insert a single balloon catheter through a small incision into the space from which the cancerous tumor was removed. The balloon-tipped end is inflated with sterile saline and contrast (for imaging) to fill the cavity. A small portion of the catheter remains outside the breast and is dressed before the patient returns home that day.

Our patients return to our facility for their daily radiation therapy treatments. Typically, treatments are provided twice a day for five days. Each visit usually takes about an hour, with about 10 minutes or less for the delivery of radiation.

During the visit, Dr. Keisch briefly connects the portion of the catheter that remains outside the breast to a computer-controlled machine called an “afterloader.” The afterloader is programmed to deliver a radioactive seed, attached to a wire, into the balloon portion of the device where it emits radiation from within the breast. The patient may return home between treatments. On the fifth day, Dr. Keisch removes the catheter from the breast and the patient returns to normal activities.

Benefits of Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is considered the preferred treatment because it offers many important benefits that the traditional treatment does not. The traditional treatment involves a combination of lumpectomy followed by external radiation to the whole breast (known as “teletherapy”).

Although studies have found the traditional treatment to have the same success rate as removal of the entire breast, also known as a “total mastectomy,” only about 50 percent of women choose to keep their breast and undergo the traditional treatment.

There are many reasons many women choose mastectomy instead of the traditional treatment. First, many woman are concerned about the potential side effects of conventional whole-breast radiation. Second, many women want to get the treatment over as quickly as possible for peace of mind, and they consider the seven-week external treatment too time-consuming and conflictive with their work schedules and daily lives. The travel time to and from the cancer center can be prohibitive, because women have to do it every day for seven weeks.

The benefits of breast brachytherapy include:

1. The entire treatment takes five days instead of the five weeks to seven weeks involved with the traditional whole-breast radiation treatment
2. Significantly less radiation reaches the rest of the body, including skin, lungs, heart, ribs and healthy parts of the breast. This is because the radiation dose is narrowly focused in the specific part of the breast where the tumor was previously removed
3. Because brachytherapy is so brief, treatment may be provided before chemotherapy is begun (if chemotherapy is required). Radiation seems to be more effective when it is provided sooner

Candidates for Brachytherapy

Candidates for breast brachytherapy include women with stage 1 or stage 2 breast cancer, with a tumor size less than 4 cm (1.5 inches) and with negative surgical margins. If the axillary lymph nodes have been removed, a candidate should have fewer than three cancerous lymph nodes and no other reason to irradiate the lymph nodes. In addition, CHCA considers other factors when evaluating whether our brachytherapy program is right for our patients.
Some women are not candidates for the MammoSite device because of their breast shape or because they do not have a fluid-filled cavity (seroma) remaining in their breast after their lumpectomy. For these women, multi-catheter breast brachytherapy is an excellent option.

Education is Key

Cancer care is an important decision, and we encourage all our patients to conduct extensive research and educate themselves of all the treatment options. For this reason, our Web site provides an online Resources Center with information and links to help our patients obtain the information they need. To visit our Resources Center, click here.

Many patients also benefit from learning about others’ personal experiences. To read some of our patients’ testimonials, click here.

Dr. Keisch was instrumental in the research leading to the use of the MammoSite device in breast cancer.

For more information, call us today at 305.545.6685 or Toll-free at 1.877.545.6685. You also may contact us via e-mail at info@cancerhealthcare.net.