Not all breast cancer patients will qualify for this new technique, but for those whose cancer is caught early enough it could mean there's no need for a mastectomy.

Radiation Oncologist Dr. Hasan Murshed is offering his breast cancer patients a different approach to radiation therapy, especially for women who want to save their breast.

"We have a protocol available to our breast cancer patients that recently opened."

In conventional therapy for breast conservation, done for 6 to 8 weeks. This protocol is testing that this cancer patient can have twice a day radiation for only one week as opposed to 6 weeks radiation,” he explained.

Dr. Murshed says there are multiple studies that show this one week twice a day radiation technique is as effect and safe to use as the old 6 week method. He says one of the reasons the technique is so effective is something called intensity modulated radiation therapy.

"IMRT is available to all of our patients, including breast cancer patients. IMRT is a refined technique of three dimensional or radiation therapy. What it does it focuses the radiation toward the tumor only and able to spare the critical structures around the tumor."

Because of the precise nature of IMRT doctors are able to use a higher dose of radiation, but breast conservation isn't for all cancer patients.

"I think early stage breast cancer patients, stage one and two, are candidates for breast conservation."

Beyond stage two patients obviously have advanced cancer, so conservation wouldn't be the best option for them, but it's an option for early stage patients that Dr. Murshed claims is just as good, if not better, than the old techniques.

"Absolutely, breast conservation technique is as effective as mastectomy, so in 2007 I see no reason why a patient should need to have a mastectomy for stage one stage two treatment for breast cancer anymore."

If you'd like to know more, just call the Cancer Center at Bay Medical.