As featured in the January 2007 TO YOUR HEALTH, St.Francis Hospital and Health Center
High Dose Rate Radiation Therapy
Dr. Tolentino is one of only a few physicians in the South Suburbs who performs high dose rate radiation therapy (or HDR brachytherapy) for patients with esophageal, breast, gynecological cancers, and more. Unlike external beam radiation, HDR brachytherapy involves placing a radiation source inside the body through a catheter, and delivering a high dose of radiation over a very short period of time.
“Now, we are not only able to provide the community with external beam radiation treatments, but also high dose rate brachytherapy therapy (or limited-field radiation), such as MammoSite,” Dr. Tolentino said.
The MammoSite Radiation Therapy System is used to treat early-stage breast cancer with the intent of conserving the breast. The MammoSite device is a small, soft balloon attached to a thin catheter. It fits inside the lumpectomy cavity (the space left after the tumor is removed) through a small incision in the breast. A tiny radioactive source (or seed) is placed within the balloon by a computer-controlled machine. Because the source is inside the balloon, radiation is delivered to the area of the breast where cancer is most likely to recur.
Breast brachytherapy has several advantages over external beam radiation therapies:
- Radiation is delivered from inside the breast directly to the area where cancer is most likely to recur, limiting exposure to nearby healthy tissue, such as the heart, lungs and skin.
- As a primary therapy, treatments are given twice a day for up to 5 days.
- Brachytherapy is done on an outpatient basis.
“Breast brachytherapy is a very convenient treatment option for a patient who has had a lumpectomy,” Dr. Tolentino said. “Traditional radiation treatment following a lumpectomy can take as long as seven weeks. Brachytherapy radiation treatment can be completed in as little as five days. Because brachytherapy is completed quickly, the patient can receive chemotherapy sooner, if needed.”