There is a new type of treatment available to women in central New York diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. It’s known as MammoSite and is offered at Bassett’s Cancer Center in Cooperstown.

Dr. Timothy Campbell, Chief of Radiation Oncology at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, says “The ideal candidate is in her 50’s or 60’s. She’s got a small tumor and nothing in her lymph nodes.

MammoSite involves the placement of a small balloon into the lumpectomy cavity where the tumor was in order to deliver radiation only to the tissue where the cancer is most likely to recur. Campbell explains, “And, what will happen is the radioactive source will go down into the balloon, stay there 5 to 7 minutes, come out and you go about your day. We do that 10 times.” That’s over the course of just five days. So, unlike traditional treatment which involves whole breast radiation therapy over several weeks, MammoSite is much more convenient – which is important to the patients in the rural 8-county region Bassett serves.

Visit www.bassett.org for more information.
For an appointment call 1-800-BASSETT.