Partial Breast Radiation Service for Breast Cancer

New Option for Breast Cancer Patients

The Cancer Center at Lutheran has expanded its services to include a much more convenient radiation treatment for breast cancer patients. Accelerated Partial Breast (APB) radiation therapy significantly shortens the total treatment time for patients with certain types of breast cancer who elect to have a lumpectomy.

Conveniently located within our Radiation Oncology department on the Lutheran Medical Center campus, 8300 W. 38th Avenue - Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033.

High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy involves a catheter and balloon device that is inserted into the lumpectomy site and the balloon is inflated to completely fill the cavity. A portion of the catheter remains outside the breast and is attached to a computer-controlled machine that inserts a radiation source into the center of the balloon for a few minutes. The radiation is delivered directly to the surface of the resection cavity and limited surrounding tissue. The source is then remotely retracted and the catheter protected by recapping it until the next treatment.

Accelerated Partial Breast therapy is typically administered twice a day for a total of only five days. This is significantly less than the typical seven weeks of external-beam radiation therapy.

This time-saving treatment option is intended for women older than 45 years of age with a tumor smaller than 3 centimeters and appropriately selected by her breast surgeon.