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Treatment

Breast cancer patients have more treatment options than ever before. Options typically involve one or more treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or targeted drug therapy.

Overlake Radiation Oncology provides the full realm of breast radiation, including both external beam therapy and breast brachytherapy, an innovative breast cancer therapy that condenses radiation treatment into five days for qualified patients.

Dedicated Breast Surgeons

Should you need surgery, our breast surgeons provide individualized care, and will educate you about your options and resources available to you. Read more about our breast surgery clinic.

Inpatient Oncology Unit

If you need hospitalization or chemotherapy, you'll receive advanced treatment at Overlake's designated inpatient oncology unit.

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Breast Cancer Treatment

MammoSite®

MammoSite is a leading-edge treatment for women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. It delivers high doses of radiation to the area where cancer is most likely to recur. The MammoSite is a small balloon-based device implanted into the breast to treat the “rind” of tissue surrounding the cavity left by lumpectomy surgery. The balloon is then inflated and filled with saline. A radiation seed is sent through the portion of the catheter that remains outside your breast by a computer-controlled High Dose Rate (HDR) machine.

Contura™

In the past, balloon brachytherapy was available with only that single channel for delivery of the radiation seed. Some patients were excluded from this type of treatment because the location of the tumor in their breast.

Contura is now available at Overlake. It uses five different channels or “lumens” to place the radiation seed – keeping radiation away from skin, chest wall and ribs. Again, the balloon is inflated and filled with saline.  Next, vacuum is used to help the balloon fit closely within the lumpectomy cavity, which is often irregularly shaped. The radiation seed is sent through the five separate channels inside the balloon, allowing the radiation dose to reach the targeted area.

Most women feel little or no discomfort during insertion of the catheter, during treatment or during removal of the catheter. Traditional radiation therapy requires six weeks of treatment, while Contura and MammoSite can both be completed in just five days. And since radiation is delivered from within the breast, it limits the amount of radiation to healthy tissue and reduces possible side effects.