CyberKnife for Breast Cancer
Treating Breast Cancer with Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is often used to treat breast cancer after a tumor is removed. Traditionally, radiation has been given to a patient’s entire breast over about four to six weeks to increase the chance that any cancer cells remaining in the lumpectomy area are destroyed. Healthy cells, as well as cancer cells, can be affected by radiation. Partial breast irradiation, a newer technique, minimizes exposure to the rest of the breast, skin, ribs, lungs and heart. Partial breast irradiation treats only the immediate area surrounding the original tumor, where breast cancer is most likely to recur. Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) delivers the equivalent of six weeks of daily radiation in just a few days.
Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation with CyberKnife
At RWJBarnabas Health, we treat breast cancer patients with partial-breast radiation using the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System. CyberKnife is a painless, nonsurgical cancer treatment technology in which high-dose radiation is targeted to the tissue surrounding the site where the tumor was removed. Radiation is delivered in an accelerated course of treatment over a few days instead of several weeks.
Advantages of CyberKnife Treatment
- Shorter and more convenient course of radiation
- 5 treatment days
- Noninvasive and outpatient procedure
- Less radiation exposure to surrounding normal structures (lung, heart, chest wall, breast, and lymphatic system)
- Spares more healthy breast tissue
- Minimal to no side effects
- Little to no recovery time
- Excellent cosmetic outcome