Treatment A Game Changer For Breast Cancer

One Dose, One Time Early Stage Treatment - A Game Changer For Breast Cancer

The news that Intrabeam, the revolutionary one dose, one time treatment for early-stage breast cancer is being made available to women in the UK by Britains national health service has been welcomed by New Zealand breast cancer organisations.

Chairperson of the Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC), Libby Burgess, says intraoperative radiotherapy is a wonderful advance and shes pleased to see its now been adopted in Britains public health system.

Ms Burgess says BCAC is hopeful that New Zealand will soon follow in the footsteps of the UK and publicly fund intraoperative radiation treatment for suitable women: We believe this technology has real benefits for women with early stage breast cancer and wed like to see it available to all those who meet the criteria, rather than only those who can afford to pay for it. Were pleased the National Health Committee is taking a closer look at the need to publicly fund this treatment option in New Zealand hospitals.

Evangelia Henderson, chief executive of the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation says: `The NHSs decision to offer IORT to suitable patients is a positive endorsement of this new technology. Im sure New Zealand clinicians will be paying close attention and this new information will be help them weigh up the benefits of IORT. The convenience aspects for women will be significant.

Ms Burgess adds: The delivery of surgery and radiotherapy during a single operation offers real advantages to women with low-risk early breast cancer. It eliminates the need for up to six weeks of daily radiation therapy and allows women to avoid ongoing stress and inconvenience and return to their normal lives much faster.

The other major advantage of this technology for patients is that it causes less damage to healthy breast tissue, leading to a better cosmetic result and thats something women with breast cancer really want to see.

In addition, Ms Burgess explains out that intraoperative radiation therapy will give women with breast cancer more treatment options. She says women in remote areas often choose to have a mastectomy rather than a lumpectomy followed by a long course of radiation therapy. If intraoperative radiotherapy was available in New Zealand public hospitals, then these women would be able to consider this treatment option and avoid more invasive surgery with a longer recovery time.

The New Zealand National Health Committee is conducting an evidence-based assessment of the various applications of intraoperative radiation therapy. This process will include consultation with the sector. No time frame has been set for a decision.

Last year Auckland Breast Surgeon Dr Erica Whineray Kelly and a team of Auckland breast cancer specialists formed their own service, Focus Radiotherapy, to bring the new treatment option, using the Zeiss Intrabeam intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) system, to the Southern Cross Hospital, North Harbour Auckland, but they want to make it available to women across the country through the health service.

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Treatment A Game Changer For Breast Cancer