MammoSite Brachytherapy

MammoSite® is a type of high dose rate brachytherapy — radiation placed inside the body as close as possible to the cancer cells — used for breast cancer. With MammoSite® brachytherapy, you can get a higher total dose of radiation to treat a smaller area and in a shorter time than is possible with external radiation therapy.

Advanced radiation therapy delivered with compassion

MammoSite® is one of the advanced radiation therapy treatments available at Cooper — delivered with compassion. From your first appointment to the completion of your care, we will be there to support you and answer all of your questions. 

We treat your cancer aggressively, while minimizing the side effects of radiation therapy. Using a state-of-the-art image-based planning system, we precisely locate your tumor and design treatments with pinpoint accuracy. Then we deliver the most effective dose of radiation to your tumor while sparing as much healthy tissue as possible.

Uses of MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy

MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy is used after lumpectomy in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Lumpectomy is surgery to remove a breast lump and a small amount of nearby healthy tissue. 

MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy is designed to kill any cancer cells that remain after lumpectomy. Itcan be used on its own or with external radiation therapy. 
External radiation therapy. If MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy is used with external radiation therapy, you’ll need less external radiation therapy than you would if you only had external radiation therapy.

How MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy works

MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy focuses the radiation on the lumpectomy site, the area where the cancer would most likely come back. It lessens radiation damage to the nearby healthy tissue.

After the breast cancer is removed, the doctor places a balloon attached to a thin, hollow tube (catheter) in the space where the lump was.  The balloon is “inflated” with a salt-water solution so that it fits snugly into that space. A small part of the end of the catheter is left outside of your breast for the radioactive material.

MammoSite® HDR radiation therapy is done in five days on an outpatient basis. The balloon and the tube stay in your breast throughout this time. Twice a day, the radioactive material is placed into the middle of the balloon through the catheter, which is connected to the HDR machine.  This machine delivers the radiation therapy. After the treatment, the catheter is disconnected from the HDR machine and the radioactive source goes back into the machine.

There is no radiation inside your breast between treatments. You can go back to your normal activities.

After the final treatment, the balloon is deflated and the balloon and the catheter are removed.