MammoSite Provides Innovative New Treatment Option for Breast Cancer
June 2003 — More than 14,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Florida this year, with more than 4,500 cases occurring in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. MammoSite is a new treatment option at Memorial Healthcare System that provides women with early-stage breast cancer an alternative to full breast radiation following a lumpectomy. With its site-specific approach, MammoSite is focused and less invasive, providing a shorter course of therapy and fewer side effects.
Providing a Choice
Memorial is one of a select group of hospitals nationwide to offer MammoSite. A team of Memorial physicians, including surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists and breast radiologists, has received special clinical training for its use.
MammoSite is a patented device that delivers therapeutic radiation directly to the cancer site. Treatment involves inserting a balloon catheter in the area of the breast where the tumor was removed. The balloon is expanded and radiation is delivered through a radioactive “seed” placed in the inflated balloon for each treatment. Rather than six to seven weeks of full-breast radiation following lumpectomy, MammoSite involves outpatient treatment twice a day for five consecutive workdays. “This is a very attractive treatment option for certain breast cancer patients,” says Maria Ciccia, MD, a radiation oncologist on the medical staff at Memorial Regional Hospital, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Memorial Hospital West and Memorial Hospital Pembroke. “Treatment time is considerably less, and side effects are minimized.”
Because the device delivers radiation directly to the area where the tumor was surgically removed, the amount of radiation to surrounding healthy tissue is limited. This means less exposure to the rest of the breast, skin, ribs, lungs and heart. In addition, most patients experience less inflammation, swelling, redness and peeling than with traditional radiation.
Breast Cancer Care at Memorial
MammoSite is designed for a specific subset of breast cancer patients, so patients must be screened for the procedure. To be eligible, a patient must be at least 45 years old, and the tumor must be no larger than 3 centimeters in diameter — preferably 2 centimeters or less. “Careful screening, planning and testing are essential in determining eligibility and measuring the success of the procedure,” says Dr. Ciccia.
To learn more about MammoSite as a treatment option, speak to your physician or call the Memorial Regional Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center at (954) 986-6363. For referral to a physician, call Memorial Healthcare System's Physician Referral Service at (800) 944-DOCS.