Radiation targeting a breast cancer tumour rather than the full breast offers the promise of shorter, less painful treatments.
The treatment, called partial breast irradiation, is being studied at several sites in Canada and around the world as one of the latest innovations in cancer medicine.
Standard treatment is like using a fire hose to put out a match. The entire breast is irradiated after a lump is removed to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Now doctors have figured out how to aim the beams more precisely, to avoid delivering damaging radiation to part of the heart and lungs.
Women in rural Canada may benefit the most, since under the current regimen, they often leave home for eight weeks to live where they can receive daily radiation.
Rural women sometimes choose breast removal to avoid radiation after lump removal, said Dr. Susan Chafe of the Alberta Cancer Board.
"People who currently may not have that option to spend five or six weeks away from home if given the choice of perhaps only one week away from home will then be able to choose to preserve their breast," said Chafe.
The new technique shows promise for women with early stage breast cancer, who are about half of those of diagnosed with the disease, she said.
"A one-week treatment, if it's as good, would be wonderful," said Edmonton resident Michelle Laberge, one of the first Canadians to receive partial radiation as part of the international trial. "Because you're going through enough, you know, with the cancer and the emotional upheaval."
For now, the treatment is only available through clinical trials. The B.C. Cancer Agency is also enrolling patients in two trials testing the new technique.
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