Word: tumors
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...Mammograms, which provide detailed imaging of breast tissue, can catch cancer in earliest stages, and for some women early detection means having a choice between a lumpectomy, in which a tumor and the surrounding tissue are excised, and a mastectomy, a far more radical procedure which can result in the complete loss of a breast...
...moment, most breast cancer patients are given a choice of mastectomy - removal of the entire breast - often followed by chemotherapy, or lumpectomy - removal of the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue - usually followed by radiation treatments. The prospect of undergoing weeks of radiation, however, is so frightening that fully half of early stage breast cancer patients who could keep their breasts choose not to, largely because they fear getting zapped...
...experimental technique, which takes place while the woman is still on the operating table, involves a tiny coil that's inserted into the cavity created by the removal of the tumor. In 25 minutes, the device emits all the radiation that's needed; then it's removed. So far, the coil has been tested on only 15 patients, who were treated about a year and a half ago. None of the 15 has seen their breast cancer return...
...Another method, called MammoSite, does the job in five days. MammoSite delivers radioactive seeds to the tumor site through tiny balloons temporarily implanted after lumpectomy surgery. So far, a few dozen women have tried MammoSite, which may get FDA approval as early as this year. Trials on hundreds of women for several years are still needed to be certain that the new methods are as effective as conventional radiation...
...techniques themselves is the change in thinking they represent. Restricting radiation to a small part of the breast would have been unthinkable a decade ago. But now studies show that if the breast cancer recurs, nine out of 10 times it appears only at the site of the previous tumor. Moreover, the risk of cancer appearing elsewhere in the breast is about the same as the risk of occurrence in the other, healthy breast. "When you realize this, you realize that many women probably don't need drastic treatment." says Dr. Jayant Vaidya, a breast surgeon at the University College...