Innovations in Breast Cancer Radiation Therapy

thank you [Music] breast cancer in women is estimated to be the most common cancer worldwide however the rate of survival has increased dramatically in recent decades today we're going to take a look at an innovation enabling Physicians to provide a more personalized and more precise radiation treatment for patients [Music] incredible progress has been made in the treatment of breast cancer over the last two decades largely due to the evolving ability to treat breast cancers differently based on their individual characteristics today I paid a visit to the Miami Cancer Institute where they're using some of the latest technology to treat breast cancer I sat down with Dr Maria Amelia Rodriguez a radiation oncologist Dr Rodriguez thank you so much for your time and especially to have this conversation which is so important thank you for being here Olga it's always a pleasure to discuss such an important issue for women breast cancer actually affects one in eight women in the U.S so it is important to bring awareness to talk about early detection treatment options including surgeries systemic therapies chemotherapy or not and radiation therapy I want to talk about treatments how have they evolved in let's say the last 20 years tremendously so in terms of the first treatment for breast cancer is surgery so we don't do surgeries that were so mutilating anymore thank goodness and when women have to have a mastectomy we have immediate reconstruction yes but for most women we don't even have to do a mastectomy they can simply have removal of the area of tumor and have additional treatments radiation maybe some hormonal pill or end times chemotherapy as well now I want to talk about radiation where are we today when it comes to radiation for breast cancer because let's face it when a woman comes in and they know they're going to get radiation they're scared they think of the burning what's going to happen What are the side effects in the case of radiation yes there is a general fear of radiation because in the past again the technology wasn't where we are now and bad things happened I mean women got burned we don't see that anymore luckily because of the new technologies that we have today let's talk about that new technology that's so unique here at Miami Cancer Institute so Miami Cancer Institute we have literally every single piece of radiation available so as Physicians here it's a pleasure to work here because we can really recommend and pinpoint the specific machine that would be the most applicable to that patient it's tailored to that individual's needs absolutely and there's a new one it's called Radix Act what makes that so unique and special it's a very um peculiar machine so you picture a CT scan that goes around somebody's body so that machine is like it's a CT scan at the same time that it has a linear accelerator that produces radiation inside it so it delivers radiation in a helical form so a spiral so the patient will travel through the machine and it's delivering that radiation and inside that machine there are tiny little pieces that block the radiation or allow the radiation to go through in that way you can literally paint the radiation to that specific area where you want it to go and you can literally block where you don't want it to go as the patient is going through the radiation machine so that allows for a more targeted approach right doctor what it means is for example a woman with left-sided breast cancer after that patient has gone through surgery and has gone to chemotherapy that sometimes can affect the heart there are naturally very concerned when they come to me and they want to know how I'm going to make sure that the radiation is not damaged their healthy heart so by using the red exact weekend again to Simply paint that radiation that it will conform to the shape of the area that we need to treat and it will block and radiation will not go to that patient's heart that's fantastic who is a good candidate for this therapy many patients in the case of breast cancer um patients with very early stage breast cancer that we use a technique called partial breast radiation where we don't treat the entire breast tissue they are eligible for therapy with red exact but also the patients where we need to treat not only the area where the breast was in the case of a mastectomy but the regional lymph glands so those lymph glands are located in close vicinity to some important structures such as the lung the heart in the case of a left-sided breast cancer they're close to the esophagus and the and the trachea so we can then with the red exact literally as I had said before paint where the radiation goes and therefore avoid the toxicity of radiation therapy [Music] doctor again medicine is always evolving new equipments new therapies this tumor is creating this abnormality I see you have a passion for this and I know what patients mean to you for a patient coming in knowing that they're going to be going through these treatments and possibly this new unique one what words would you say to to help motivate them through such a difficult process it's passion of the people that work here so my patients often will tell me either in the middle of their course of radiation or at the end of their radiation that they feel that every person that comes in contact with them really has a vested interest in them from the receptionist to the medical assistant to the nurse to the therapist on the machine so they really feel the difference that there is a special touch inside this institute and it's the people and it's all of that along with the therapies that can save more lives doctor thank you so much for your time and if you'd like more information you can go to radexact.com or you can check out our website accesshealth.tv the views contained and expressed in this show including any accompanying oral commentary are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of accurate incorporated or its subsidiaries important safety information most side effects of radiotherapy including radiotherapy delivered with accurate systems are mild and temporary often involving fatigue nausea and skin irritation side effects can be severe however leading to pain alterations and normal body functions for example urinary or salivary function deterioration of quality of life permanent injury and even death side effects can occur during or shortly after radiation treatment or in the months and years following radiation the nature and severity of side effects depend on many factors including the size and location of the treated tumor the treatment technique for example the radiation dose the patient's General medical condition to name a few for more details about the side effects of your radiation therapy and if treatment with an accurate product is right for you ask your doctor [Music]

Channel: Access Health

Views: 5,034

Keywords: access health, lifetime television, nutrition, health, medical, fitness, Ereka Vetrini

Id: Fjy5csXANCs

Length: 8min 38sec (518 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 25 2023