Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-Southeast is the first in its community to offer a new option for breast cancer treatment that allows patients who otherwise would have undergone seven weeks of radiation to finish in five days. Contura™, a partial-breast radiation device, is also among other treatment options available at Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-The Woodlands.
"Partial-breast radiation targets only the lumpectomy site," explains Coleen White, manager, Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-Southeast. "It takes less time and exposes less of the patient's body to radiation than whole-breast treatment. However, not all patients qualify for partial radiation. For example, it is not recommended for women whose tumor size relative to their breast size because it could result in radiation exposure to their skin, chest wall or ribs."
Contura™ is the first device of its kind to deliver radiation through five separate tubes, called "lumens," which help hospitals better target radiation to the areas in most need of treatment and avoid surrounding healthy tissue and organs.
"The multi-lumen technology is a recent improvement upon established partial-breast radiation options," says Ted Yang, MD, radiation oncologist, Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-Southeast.
"We immediately embraced Contura™ as a viable option for those who otherwise might not have been able to receive partial-breast radiation," says Paul Polansky, Radiation Therapy manager, Memorial Hermann Cancer Center-The Woodlands. He adds that the Center's physicians, medical physicists, registered nurses and radiation therapists are highly trained in the use of Mammosite and Contura™ procedures.