MammoSite Radiation Therapy

The Webber Cancer Center offers a type of radiation therapy for women with breast cancer who meet specific criteria. MammoSite Radiation Therapy delivers radiation inside the breast to the area where the tumor was removed, instead of traditional radiation, which is delivered externally and over several weeks.

Patients who are good candidates should have tumors smaller than three centimeters and cancer-free lymph nodes. Surgeons first perform a lumpectomy, or removal of the cancerous tumor, before administering the MammoSite Radiation.

Attached to a thin tube (catheter), the MammoSite is a small, soft balloon that fits inside the space where the tumor has been removed. A computer-controlled machine places a radioactive seed within the balloon.

With the seed inside the balloon, radiation is delivered to the area where cancer is most likely to recur. The radioactive seed is inserted into the balloon twice a day for approximately five minutes, delivering the dose to the lumpectomy site. The catheter remains in the patient's breast for five days. After the radiation treatments are completed, the catheter is removed and the patient is not radioactive.

Additional advantages of MammoSite Radiation Therapy include:

• Treatment is completed in five days on an outpatient basis.
• This type of radiation therapy limits radiation to healthy tissue.
• In a clinical study, cosmetic results are good to excellent in most patients.
• Patient satisfaction has been positive.
• If chemotherapy is prescribed, radiation MammoSite offers several advantages to patients including 

The MammoSite has only minimal side effects, which can include redness, bruising and breast pain. Patients may also experience some drainage from the insertion site. However, all are common side effects of breast surgery and radiation therapy. Such symptoms usually last for a short time.