CHICAGO, Ill. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Breast cancer treatment has come a long way. In recent years, patients have been getting partial breast radiation therapy, a treatment that takes one week instead of seven. Now, there's a new kind of brachytherapy that could be even better.

With a rooftop apartment in the center of the Windy City, Kathleen Rau is usually flying high. But her spirits sank when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago.

"When I heard the word 'cancer,' and she described it as noninvasive cancer, my first thought was, 'Well what does that mean? Isn't it all invasive?'" she says.
 

Rau's cancer was caught at an early stage. She had a lumpectomy and is now one of the first people to get a new kind of radiation.

"It's a safer radiation, which gives physicians more control over the radiation," says Adam Dickler, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

After the lumpectomy, a balloon catheter is inserted. This miniature X-ray tube then goes into the balloon, electrically generating X-rays that deliver radiation. The procedure is advantageous because less radiation hits the heart and lungs. The system can be used almost anywhere and prevents patients from having to travel to a big medical center for treatment.

"I think it might make partial breast radiation a lot more accessible for the many patients that are eligible for it," Dr. Dickler says.

With her first treatment over, Rau only has four more days to go.

"I can't imagine, you know, having to go every day for eight weeks, or six weeks, like most women have," she says.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Kim Waterman
Associate Director, Media Relations
Rush University Medical Center
(312) 942-7820