LIVEWELL MINUTE: MammoSite

This year more than 2,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in Iowa . The John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center is proud to be the first in Central Iowa to pilot a new treatment for breast cancer.

Dr. Evangelos Gavathas, Chief Medical Physiscist of Radiation Oncology says, “We are excited to be participating in a clinical trial for a new device called MammoSite, which delivers bursts of radiation to the cancerous area over a period of five days, as compared to six weeks with standard radiation therapy.”

Candidates for this clinical trial have early-stage breast cancer and have had a lumpectomy. The MammoSite, a small, soft balloon attached to a thin catheter, is implanted at the lumpectomy site. A small radiation seed is placed inside the balloon. Radiation treatments are administered twice a day for 15 minutes. Each treatment delivers about twice as much radiation as a standard treatment.

Dr. Gavathas says, “MammoSite only treats the area that is affected by the cancer, thereby minimizing the effect of the treatment on our patients. It s just a better way to deliver a highly localized radiation dosage.”