Presbyterian Healthcare 
Cancer Treatments
Brachytherapy for Breast Cancer (MammoSite)
| Brachytherapy treats the breast using a radiation source that is placed inside the body. |
 MammoSite Procedure
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Brachytherapy is the first breast cancer treatment to deliver radiation directly to the original tumor site and decrease radiation time. While standard breast brachytherapy involves surgically implanting up to 24 catheters into the breast, a new treatment called MammoSite calls for just a single catheter to perform the therapy.
MammoSite Radiation Therapy System is a small, soft balloon attached to a thin catheter. It is placed inside the lumpectomy cavity, the space left after the tumor has been removed. MammoSite delivers radiation from inside the lumpectomy cavity when a small radioactive source, known as a seed, is placed within the balloon by a computer-controlled machine.
MammoSite offers many advantages to radiation therapy patients.
- Radiation is delivered to the area where it is needed most.
- Radiation to healthy tissue is minimized, reducing the potential for side effects.
- The treatment is given on an outpatient basis, so no hospital stay is required.
- Radiation can be delivered in five days instead of over a period of seven weeks.
- A clinical study has shown cosmetic results to be good/excellent in 88% of women treated with MammoSite.
