South Suburban Cancer Center News and Press
South Suburban Re-Accredited
Tinley Park Resident is One of the First Breast Cancer Patients to Receive New Treatment
MAMMOSITE® RADIATION THERAPY SYSTEM AND SAVI™ BRACHYTHERAPY APPLICATOR OFFERS KINDER, GENTLER, MORE ACCURATE TREATMENT FOR BREAST CANCER
South Suburban Cancer Center Offers Local Patients Tumor Site-Specific Internal Radiation Therapy System for Breast Cancer, Tinley Park Resident is One of the First Breast Cancer Patients to Receive New Treatment
Source: http://www.triblocal.com/Tinley_Park/Detail_View/view.html?type=stories&action=detail&sub_id=126954
In August 2009, 82-year-old Tinley Park resident Josephine Buttala received some frightening news - she had breast cancer. Josephine was overwhelmed by the news, but immediately began to research her treatment options. After speaking with Dr. Elke Aippersbach, radiation oncologist at South Suburban Cancer Center in Hazel Crest, her fear turned to hope when learning about two new innovative treatment options that could help save her life.
South Suburban Cancer Center, a Vantage Oncology, Inc. facility, recently announced that it is now offering Chicago Southland patients with early-stage breast cancer two new innovative treatment options - MammoSite® Radiation Therapy System (RTS) and the SAVI™ Brachytherapy Applicator. This advanced targeted treatment for breast cancer is part of the Cancer Center's continued commitment towards enhancing breast-conservation therapy for patients.
"After learning more about MammoSite RTS and SAVI, I felt comforted knowing that I was receiving advanced medical care," explained Josephine. "The treatments were short and relatively pain free. I feel fantastic and I would highly recommend it to any breast cancer patient who is a candidate."
Recent studies have shown that 40 percent of women with early-stage breast cancer will opt for a mastectomy rather than breast conservation and radiation because of the shorter time commitment. Breast-conservation therapy allows women to save their breast by surgically removing the cancerous tissue with a small amount of surrounding normal tissue, followed by radiation therapy. This approach is a less invasive alternative to a mastectomy, which involves removal of the entire breast and is often followed by breast reconstruction. The MammoSite RTS and SAVI systems provide women with localized tumors the lumpectomy option, thereby achieving the dual goals of breast conservation and a relatively short time commitment to radiation therapy.
"Radiotherapy treatments following a lumpectomy are routinely delivered over a 5 to 6 week period, but with the improved precision of MammoSite® RTS, we can deliver the required dose over a five day period," said Dr. Elke Aippersbach, radiation oncologist at the South Suburban Cancer Center. "This allows our patients to resume their normal daily activities and spend more time with loved ones."
MammoSite RTS and SAVI deliver a form of radiation therapy known as breast brachytherapy. This approach targets the tumor site from inside the breast and is rapidly becoming a more widely used alternative to whole breast radiation therapy for women with early stage breast cancer. Breast brachytherapy works by delivering radiation from within the lumpectomy cavity, directly to the tissue surrounding the cavity, where cancer is most likely to recur.
MammoSite RTS is a small balloon at the end of a tube called a catheter. Either at the time of the lumpectomy, or shortly after, the surgeon places the balloon into the empty space where the cancer was removed. The balloon is inflated with fluid and is left in place until treatment is completed.
SAVI is an applicator that is inserted into the lumpectomy cavity at the time of the lumpectomy. Once the applicator is in place, it is expanded and conforms to the size of the cavity. The applicator is left in place until treatment is completed.
In addition to shortening the therapy time, breast brachytherapy minimizes radiation exposure of healthy tissue, which reduces damage to critical structures such as the skin, heart, lungs and ribs. Both techniques involve treatment twice a day for 5 days. In between treatments, no radiation is present and patients can spend time with family, including children and grandchildren.
"Breast conservation therapy has reached the 21st century with its high-tech capabilities and has rapidly become the standard of care within our field for early stage breast cancer. MammoSite RTS and SAVI give patients and their physician more options to choose from on how to best deliver radiation therapy after breast conservation surgery." said Dr. Aippersbach. "The MammoSite RTS and SAVI applicator enables us to more aggressively treat tumors with higher doses of radiation without damaging healthy tissues or organs. As a result, we can focus on treating the targeted area where the cancer is most likely to recur."
For additional information about MammoSite RTS and SAVI Brachytherapy Applicator, please visit the South Suburban Cancer Center website at www.SouthSuburbanCancerCenter.com or contact the Cancer Center at 708-799-9995 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Aippersbach.
The SAVI™ Brachytherapy Applicator technology was developed by Cianna Medical, Inc., (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) a women's health company dedicated to the early treatment of breast cancer. Cianna has received 510(k) market clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for the SAVI brachytherapy applicator.
The MammoSite® Radiation Therapy System was developed by Cytyc Corporation (Marlborough, MA), a diversified diagnostic and medical device company which received FDA clearance in 2002 for the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System.
The South Suburban Cancer Center was founded in 1989 and is located at 17750 South Kedzie Avenue; Hazel Crest, IL 60429 on the Northeast corner of the Advocate South Suburban Hospital campus. The Center provides Radiation Oncology services to residents of Chicago, and the southwestern and southeast suburbs of Cook County. The physicians of South Suburban Cancer Center include Drs. Jay Ginde, Elke Aippersbach, J. David Morgan, Jason Kang and Ham N. Lee treat all major types of cancer, but specialize in breast, gynecological, lung, prostate, colorectal, and thyroid cancers.
The Center offers new technologies such as Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), High Dose Rate (HDR) and Low Dose Rate (LDR) Brachytherapy, prostate seed implants and three dimensional treatment planning
Contact:
Trace Longo
Longo Communications
Office: 949.364.2821
Cell: 714.600.9811
Fax: 949.364.2881
E-mail: trace.longo@sbcglobal.net
Edward Warren
Office: 708.799.9995
Cell: 219.781.0091
Fax: 708.799.8129
E-mail: edward.warren@vantageoncology.com
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