Women’s Cancer
MammoSite Radiation Therapy
Holy Cross Hospital was the first in Suburban
Maryland to Introduce MammoSite Radiation Therapy. The MammoSite Radiation
Therapy System (RTS) is a revolutionary radiation therapy for breast
cancer. Following a lumpectomy, MammoSite delivers a more intense treatment
over a shorter period of time, reducing the length of treatment time
from six weeks to about one week – and letting women return to
their lives sooner.
Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, MammoSite
delivers radiation therapy internally, immediately following a lumpectomy.
The RTS device is inserted into the space left after a cancerous tumor
is surgically removed and allows radiation to be delivered from inside
that space. With great accuracy, RTS concentrates the radiation dose
on the area of the breast at highest risk for tumor recurrence, all the
while preserving healthy breast tissue.
Radiation therapy with the MammoSite RTS is given on
an outpatient basis at Holy
Cross Hospital Radiation Treatment Center over a four- or five-day period. Once the catheter is inserted into the
breast cavity at Holy Cross Hospital, a radioactive seed is placed into
the catheter on an outpatient basis using a high-dose-rate radiation
device. The seed targets the radiation to the area where tumors are most
likely to recur, while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue.
Traditionally, patients undergo outpatient radiation therapy five days
a week, for six to eight weeks. With MammoSite, radiation is delivered
inside the lumpectomy cavity twice a day, for about 20 minutes each treatment,
over four or five consecutive days. This abbreviated but highly effective
treatment allows women to return to their lives - and begin the healing
process - quicker than ever.