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itting in an exam room
after her mammogram, Virginia Purdy was unable to hear or speak. She could only recall the words: “You have a suspicious mass that we need to biopsy right away.”
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The resulting biopsy revealed that Purdy, 59, had a malignant tumor in her left breast. Seeking out the best possible treatments, she discovered a minimally invasive method of delivering radiation therapy called MammoSite® offered at The Methodist Hospital. Developed for patients with earlystage breast cancer who have had lumpectomies (the removal of a cancerous lump and a portion of the
surrounding tissue), MammoSite delivers high-dose radiation directly to the site where the tumor was removed. It targets the spot where cancer would most likely recur and spares surrounding healthy tissue. Purdy was referred to Methodist radiation oncologist Dr. Hsin Lu after her lumpectomy. Lu, whose practice is comprised almost entirely of breast cancer patients, said traditional whole breast radiation is considered the current standard of care, with high energy X-rays delivered to the skin, breast and other tissue.
Breast cancer radiation therapy reduced to five days
Dr. Hsin Lu WWW.METHODISTHEALTH.COM
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 1 䡲 5
