Stage 1 Breast Cancer Treatment
“I chose AccuBoost because it was only treating my breast, NOT my chest wall, and healthy tissues.”
Early Stage Breast Cancer Treatment Options
Where Do I Start?
Once diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 breast cancer, each patient with the help of her medical team, will have to select the course of treatment that is best for her considering her medical and lifestyle needs along with the breast cancer treatment options available to her caregivers.
What Are The Options?
For women diagnosed with stage 1 or stage 2 breast cancer, one of the first and most fundamental decisions to be made is related to preservation of the breast. With guidance from their medical team, the patient will either: consider a treatment path where the breast is preserved, known as Breast Conserving Therapy (BCT), or if partial or total surgical removal, Mastectomy, is more appropriate or desirable. Which option is best for you Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
What Is Breast Conserving Therapy?
Women with early-stage (stage 1 or stage 2) breast cancer are often eligible for BCT. With BCT, the cancerous tumor is surgically removed in a procedure known as a lumpectomy. To minimize the chances of the cancer coming back(recurrence), radiation oncologists typically prescribe a course of radiation therapy to effectively “sterilize” any residual cancerous or pre-cancerous microscopic tissue that may exist near the excision site – where the tumor was surgically removed.
Photos originated from Cancer.org
What Are My Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment Options?
Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI)
In recent years, some patients, either independently or, based on a recommendation of their radiation oncologist, are choosing a shorter course of therapy called APBI. This shortened course of treatment is delivered either twice a day for 5 days or once a day for 5 or 10 days. The AccuBoost Technique is the only non-invasive brachytherapy technique for APBI (no catheter or balloon device implanted in the breast). The brachytherapy approach allows the radiation oncologist to deliver a conformal dose while also minimizing radiation to the heart and lungs. It uses daily imaging along with breast immobilization for optimal targeting of the tissue at risk for recurrence.
Learn more about AccuBoost for APBI.
Whole Breast Irradiation (WBI)
Whole breast irradiation therapy (WBI) is a procedure that is performed daily for a period of 4-7 weeks after surgery. An important part of the WBI process is the delivery of a targeted higher dose, known as the “boost dose”, to the tissue surrounding the site of the lumpectomy – the most likely location for cancer recurrence. The AccuBoost Technique delivers a conformal radiation field to the target tissue using daily image guidance. This daily image guidance gives the radiation oncologist the confidence and ability to treat only the volume of tissue that is at highest risk. This also minimizes radiation exposure to the heart and lungs.
Learn more about AccuBoost for Boost.