Think Pinker

Finding out you have breast cancer is quite the shock. Women with breast implants face another dilemma that women with their natural breasts don’t face. And that’s in how their treatment will be handled.

According to the Washington Post there’s some exciting news for women with breast implants. Now women who have early stage breast cancer will be able to be successfully treated with brachytherapy.

What’s brachytherapy? It’s a partial breast radiation treatment. With this treatment the doctor watches on a computer screen as radioactive seeds are gently guided through the breast by using a tiny plastic tube.

Up until now external beam radiation was used but only on women who had undergone a lumpectomy. But it can only be used under certain situations. On top of that it has a risk of scar tissue forming.

Seed therapy isn’t actually new. It’s been used to treat prostate cancer for many years and it’s been very successful at it. Technology has improved significantly and that’s great news for all women with breast cancer, and even more so for women with breast implants.

For women that don’t want to have their implant removed the brachytherapy treatment will allow them to do just that. The American Breast Cancer Society was pleased that women had more options. Although this latest treatment is only applicable to tumours that are 3 centimetres or less in diameter, if your breast cancer is caught early this is an option many women will consider.

Mastectomy, lumpectomy, brachytherapy, radiation, are all part of breast cancer treatments and all worth having a good understanding of so that you make the right decision for you.