[Wellness] Another improvement in radiation therapy

["Karen Patterson" <Patterson@womens-wellness.com>]

Dear Members,

October 2005 Ladies's Home Journal  By Janis Graham

"Partial Breast Irradiation (PBI)is a five-day treatment that delivers
radiation directly to the pocket where the original tumor was removed by
surgery (the area where in which cancer is most likely to come back) Unlike
conventional radiation therapy, in which an external beam is targeted over a
large area of your entire breast and which requires a much longer,
physically draining course of treatment, the most widely used form of PBI is
delivered internally.  A "Baloon" is attached to a tube that leads to the
foutside of your breast is placed inside the cavity.  For each treatment a
radioactive seed is inserted into the tube and then travels to the balloon,
where it delivers a prescribed dose of radiation to the specific site of the
original tumor.  The balloon and tube can be inserted in a doctor's office
in less than 15 minutes using local anesthetic; removal which occurs as soon
as you're done with your treatment, is just as easy.  The most common side
effects are some breast tenderness and mild burns on the skin. In a study
conducted at William Beaumont Hospital, in Royal Oak, Michigan, women
treated with five days of PBI did just as well over the course of five years
as those treated with a seven-week course of external beam radiation."

www.proximatherapeutics.com  a Website which makes the most widely used form
of PBI called MammoSite.  Since its approval by the FDA in May 2002 more
than 2000 physicians have been trained to use the technology and more than
9000 patients have been treated.

You know how I feel about the commercial sites for research info so here are
some others:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05257/570758.stm

Blue Cross Blue Shield  http://www.bcbs.com/tec/vol17/17_18.html

http://cancer.stanfordhospital.com/forPatients/services/radiationTherapy/par
tialBreastIrradiation/default

http://irt-web.stanford.edu/clinical_trials/app/clinical_trials/summary.do?t
rialId=23990&condition_superordinate=19474551&condition_subordinate=19474766

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYD/is_5_39/ai_114521542

http://www.ynhh.org/press/2004/breast_irradiation.html

Remember it is always important to note the date of the research.  A lot can
change in a year.

Hope you all enjoyed a lovely weekend,
My best to health and wellness,
Karen Patterson, Founder of Womens-Wellness.com and a breast cancer survivor
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