This is an important question to ask your radiation oncologist as part of the overall assessment of your cancer and the preferred treatment regimen for you as an individual.  The doctor, nurses, and counselors will help you with that decision process. It is important to bear in mind your own lifestyle preferences and educate yourself on all the options.

 

Learn more about the AccuBoost for APBI or Boost here.

The AccuBoost Technique, including real-time image guidance, allows your doctor to concentrate the radiation to the target with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and neighboring organs. The technique lends itself to few unwanted short and long-term radiation side effects and excellent cosmetic outcomes. You should ask your radiation oncologist about the features of the AccuBoost Technique and how they may apply to you.^5,6

The AccuBoost Technique is unique as it combines breast immobilization, daily imaging (to support precise targeting) and treatment delivery using shielded tungsten applicators. By limiting breast motion, this technique allows your doctor to confidently treat only the tissue that is at highest risk for recurrence while sparing unwanted dose to healthy tissues including skin, chest wall, heart, and lungs. With traditional boost techniques the breast is not immobilized and there often is no daily imaging for localization of target.⁴

The lumpectomy site is exposed to radiation only during the visit to the hospital. No traces of radioactivity are present anywhere in or on the patient after the session is over. The patient is free to follow a routine social life without the fear of causing harm or contaminating others.

Radiation boost with image guidance to target the dose are accepted procedures for the treatment of breast cancer and are covered by most plans. The same is true for APBI techniques.  Specific coverage for the AccuBoost Technique will depend on your individual healthcare plan.

Patient comfort is extremely important. Every effort will be made by your treatment staff to make you as comfortable as possible during treatment.  The pressure applied to your breast will typically be a fraction of that from a typical mammogram as the goal is simply to hold the breast still (immobilize), not to compress.

As with most post-operative breast radiation treatments, you should still be able to drive after you are treated. That said, every patient experience is different, and you should check with your caregiver if your particular circumstances indicate you should not.

The AccuBoost Technique is 100% non-invasive.  There are a number of breast radiation therapy techniques that require an invasive device or catheters inserted into the breast to deliver treatment. The AccuBoost Technique does not!

On a daily basis, most treatment centers will book a 30-minute time slot for Boost treatment and a 60-minute time slot for APBI. In either case, only a portion of this time is involved in the actual delivery of treatment. The exact length of your treatment depends on specifics of the treatment your doctor delivers.

If you are being treated with APBI, your treatment will take 5-10 days depending on the specifics of the options chosen by your radiation oncologist.  Alternately, if you are receiving a “Boost” dose, that can range from 2-10 days, but most patients experience 4-8 days.

This is a very important question.  Many patients are able to continue working during therapy without interruption. Your medical team will provide guidance about what lifestyle modifications you may or may not need to take.

Skin reactions during breast radiation therapy are very common. With the AccuBoost Technique, it was designed specifically to spare dose to healthy tissues lending itself to reduced toxicity. Predicting, with confidence in advance, if any given patient is going to have a skin reaction and how severe it might be is very difficult, though clinical reports have shown typically either no, or very mild skin reactions, with Accuboost.^{5, 6} 

It is important for patients to be their own advocates and discuss any concerns with your radiation oncologist to potential skin reactions or related side effects.