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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / March 2005new radiation therapy procedure
Hello everyone: Well, here I am on this journey fighting the beast like the rest of you. As part of my research, given that I've had a lumpectomy and knowing that radiation is going to be part of the program going forward, I found a new method of radiation therapy called Mammosite, provided by a company called Proxima Therapeutics. The basic procedure is similar to how they are treating some prostate cancers these days: a catheter places an uniflated ballon into the tumour cavity, then the ballon is filled with saline. A radioactive seed is placed in the ballon then a measured does of radiation is given. The balloon stays inflated for the full course of treatment, which is 5 days, 2X/day as opposed to daily for 7-8 weeks with traditional external beam radiation. Has anyone had experience with this treatment? What was the result? I know that there are only 2 locations where it is offered in Canada, both in Montreal. Just posting to see if anyone has had personal experience with this treatment. Katie Katie, I represent the treatment in the US. Many patients will call different center and speak to Doctors and patients. I know you can call the following two centers and get references for the treatment. Michael G. Beat, MD St. Louis Cancer & Breast Institute 450 N New Ballas Suite 70 St. Louis, MO 63141 Bus: (314) 989-0600 Kevin L. Schewe MD Exempla Lutheran Medical Center 8300 W 38th Ave Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 Bus: (303) 467-8903 If you qualify, its a great way to complete your course of radiation. Different centers will have slightly different patient selection criteria so you'll need to check with your doctors. Please let me know if I can be of assistance... you can email me directly if you like, Sincerely, Jim Gaines - St. Louis, MO > Hello everyone: > Well, here I am on this journey fighting the beast like the rest of you. As [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > personal experience with this treatment. > Katie > Hello everyone: > Well, here I am on this journey fighting the beast like the rest of you. As > part of my research, given that I've had a lumpectomy and knowing that > radiation is going to be part of the program going forward, I found a new > method of radiation therapy What's "wrong" with the standard radiation therapy? J Hi J: Well traditional radiation therapy appears to be very time-consuming and requires daily visits to a regional cancer clinic an hour away from me, and will likely run its course over 2 months or so (not sure about the number of treatments to be recommended yet.) I do not have the luxury of taking a significant amount of time away from work and am simply researching to find effective new methods of fighting this disease. If I must go traditional RT then I will find the time for it. Katie > > Hello everyone: > > Well, here I am on this journey fighting the beast like the rest of you. As [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > What's "wrong" with the standard radiation therapy? > J > Hi J: > Well traditional radiation therapy appears to be very time-consuming and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > then I will find the time for it. > Katie Dang it ! That's a shame, because it was my understanding that radiation is only 15 minutes or so (except for the marking process)..I could be wrong. What a shame. Do they not do them earlier in the a.m? that still leaves you with having an extra long drive first though. Darned shame. The one nearby does "pickups" (volunteers, I think)... but I don't know how far from the centre they go. If yours did those, you could snooze while someone else drove. Do ask. Hugs J >That's a shame, because it was my understanding that radiation is >only 15 minutes or so (except for the marking process)..I could be wrong. You're not wrong - in my case I was usually in & out in less than 10 minutes - that included changing into the gown, getting onto the table, then getting changed back into regular clothes & leaving the building. Luckily for me, the radiation place was on my way home from work, so it didn't cause me to have any long drives - that's where so many people end up spending alot of time, including the original poster. Sue - DivaofDVC aka WDW1972 DVC '97 OKW, Beach Club, Vero Beach, & Hilton Head When I had my Radiotherapy, which was in the UK at Addenbrookes, Cambridge, I was given a choice of times in which to attend to have my treatment, which fitted into my daily routine. They were very helpful and done all they could to get me the particular times I asked for. I'm not sure of how your particular hospital handles appointment allocation but there's no harm in asking. My treatments only took roughly 10mins to complete, so they're not too time consuming. It's just the inconvenience of having to travel to and from the hospital every day for quite long periods, that makes them a pain. But if they do their job, to help kick the b.c's a.s, then surely they're worth a little inconvenience? Shaz x > > Hi J: > > Well traditional radiation therapy appears to be very time-consuming and [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Hugs > J > Well traditional radiation therapy appears to be very time-consuming and > requires daily visits to a regional cancer clinic an hour away from me, and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > then I will find the time for it. > Katie Hello Katie, thank you for explaining. I checked a patient manual I have here (it's about 4 years old) and it says to look in the white pages of the phone book for Canadian Cancer Society (CSS) "may be able to provide you with transportation related to your cancer treatment. Call them for more information or to register for this service. After you have registered, you should make your request for transportation at least 48 hours before your appointment. You can also talk with the Transportation Dispatcher in the CCS Volunteer Room", so if the CSS volunteers service the area you are in, then it makes sense to call and register, then try to find out your radiation schedule, the cancer clinic's schedule(s) for treatments (some run 24/7) and see if a volunteer driver could get you there and back before start of work, with perhaps a warning to your employer that some days you might be a little late due to weather or short delays at the Clinic. Just some thoughts, in case that helps. They also list Cancer Information Service 1-888-939-3333 Information about types of cancer, cancer treatment, drugs and clinical trials, dealing with side effects , complementary therapies, emotional and financial support, nutrition and services in your local area. (Free provided by the CCS and Cancer Care Ontario) and Cancer Connection 1-800-263-6750 Free telephone support service that matches people living with cancer or caregivers with trained volunteers who have had a similar experience. If you've been assigned a "priimary nurse" (they work with the oncologists), perhaps there's already notes in your file as to what your radiation schedule will be. Perhaps it has to wait until the "markings" session. And I don't know if you are in Ontario or not (nor whether the above phone numbers are still valid), but hopefully you have a similar booklet. If not, complain (or ask for one). :-) Hugs J > Hello everyone: Well, here I am on this journey fighting the beast like > the rest of you. As part of my research, given that I've had a lumpectomy [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Montreal. Just posting to see if anyone has had personal experience with > this treatment. The procedure was developed by Vicini and is still quite new, so don't be surprised if no-one here has personal experience yet. Mammosite is a variation of brachytherapy (internal RT with isotopes), something we've done as an adjuvant boost to external RT of BC for ages. Whats new is the program's lack of external RT. I'm not entirely happy with their stats, I'd give them a few more years to see how the long-term results are. Theoretically the patient is spared the radiation effects to the skin, which in some people can look as bad as a severe sunburn. I recommended brachytherapy-only to an obese poster recently because she was getting suboptimal external RT and had refused further treatment. BT alone is always better than no RT.  Signaturemadiba Madiba wrote: << The procedure was developed by Vicini and is still quite new, so don't be surprised if no-one here has personal experience yet. Mammosite is a variation of brachytherapy (internal RT with isotopes), something we've done as an adjuvant boost to external RT of BC for ages. Whats new is the program's lack of external RT. I'm not entirely happy with their stats, I'd give them a few more years to see how the long-term results are. Theoretically the patient is spared the radiation effects to the skin, which in some people can look as bad as a severe sunburn. I recommended brachytherapy-only to an obese poster recently because she was getting suboptimal external RT and had refused further treatment. BT alone is always better than no RT.>> Thanks for the informative and helpful post. I didn't know much about it before, although wondered about when it was used and on whom. It's good to have an expert's opinion. |
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