When I received radiation after my lumpectomy I had to go every weekday for around six weeks. That was five years ago. These days researchers are talking about a new way to receive radiation treatments that are much shorter in duration.
Partial breast irradiation is a new option available to women but is still in the experimental stages. The new technique gives radiation only to the area of the breast where the cancer was removed. It would be given twice a day over a period of five days. A catheter, a small, flexible tube used to deliver the radiation treatment, may be in for a total of seven to ten days.
Whole breast radiation is now the standard of care and is given to the entire breast and not just the area where the cancer was removed. Past studies have show this method to be effective in keeping breast cancer from returning after a lumpectomy.
If you are interested in learning more about partial breast radiation, speak with your physician about participating in a clinical trial.
