My Story
Information Management Supervisor
Cocoa, FL
3 years, 1 month since her MammoSite treatment.
I’ve received yearly mammograms since I turned 40 years old. A couple of times, I have had to repeat the mammogram because of a questionable reading, but everything always turned out normal. When my 2007 mammogram came back showing microcalcifications, I really wasn’t that alarmed. To double-check, my doctor scheduled a biopsy which revealed Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS) non-invasive. I was slightly stunned when my doctor phoned me with the results, but I immediately went online and started reviewing my options. Fortunately, I was diagnosed with Stage 0 but nevertheless, it was cancer. During my Internet research, I found the information about MammoSite therapy, which really appealed to me since I have a full time job and a pretty active lifestyle. I didn’t want to be tied down to 5-7 weeks of daily radiation that the standard protocol provided. MammoSite offered a treatment schedule of 5 days with twice daily treatments. After discussing all of my options with my surgeon I decided to undergo a lumpectomy followed by radiation treatments. My doctor told me that even though I wanted the MammoSite treatment, I still had to qualify as a candidate. Fortunately, it was determined that I could undergo MammoSite treatment because I met the criteria.
I began my MammoSite treatments on a Monday afternoon. The staff was very experienced with the MammoSite treatments, which really helped me through the therapy. Each treatment session lasted approximately 1 hour, which included the initial x-ray to ensure the balloon was still positioned properly and the radiation treatments, which took about 7 minutes. I continued to work during the treatments and really never experienced any fatigue. I did have some drainage from the catheter incision area but nothing I couldn’t handle. While I didn’t ride or jog, I did continue to work, clean my house, take care of my horses, and walk. I am very thankful for the MammoSite therapy option because it really allowed me to complete the radiation phase quickly and get on with my life.
This profile is solely the words of the person who received MammoSite Targeted Radiation Therapy to treat breast cancer. Note that this profile is specific to this particular person, and experiences will vary.
