Should your plan of care include radiation therapy, our staff of board-certified radiation oncologists, physicians specializing in cancer treatment, will head your treatment team. (These physicians are not employed by the hospital, but work closely with TMH's staff.) At the Sharon Ewing Walker Breast Health Center, our goal is to make your radiation therapy as easy for you as possible. We hope you find that a comfortable environment, convenient location, patient and family services, combined with state-of-the-art technology will help ease your concerns. Our staff is specially trained to meet your needs throughout your therapy. Our goal is to provide you with optimal care, support and comfort, both physically and emotionally, throughout your therapy.
Radiation therapy is an effective weapon against breast cancer because it weakens and prevents cell reproduction. Radiation therapy is used to destroy cancerous cells in the area of the breast that is radiated.
External Radiation
External radiation, sometimes called external beam radiation, is the most common type of radiation. In this technique, a large machine called a linear accelerator aims a beam of high-energy radiation at the area affected by the cancer. 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) combine multiple radiation treatment fields to deliver very precise doses of radiation to the breast and spare surrounding normal tissue, such as the heart and lungs. This form of radiation is given on an outpatient basis 5 days a week, over 5 to 7 weeks, depending on the particular situation.
Internal Radiation
Internal radiation, sometimes called partial-breast radiation or brachytherapy, is most commonly delivered using multiple small tubes or catheters, or using a balloon-catheter device called MammoSite.
Mammosite
MammoSite Targeted Radiation Therapy works from the inside, meaning that a higher daily dose can be used for a shorter period of time — 5 days vs. 5-7 weeks. Mammosite Radiation Therapy is given on an outpatient basis. No hospital stay is required and patients typically only have mild side effects for a short period of time.
