Breast cancer treatment at GenesisCare

Non-invasive breast cancer

Non-invasive breast cancer is when the abnormal cells have not grown in to or invaded the surrounding normal tissue. Types of non-invasive breast cancer include:

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Cancer cells are found within the milk ducts of the breast. If left untreated, DCIS could progress to invasive cancer over time. DCIS is therefore usually treated with surgery and breast radiation therapy.

There is now a test available to predict the benefit of radiation therapy for DCIS patients. To find out more click here.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)

Abnormal cells are found within breast lobules, but it’s not cancer. Although LCIS increases the risk of developing cancer, most women with this condition won’t go on to develop breast cancer.

Invasive breast cancer

Invasive breast cancer means the cancer cells have spread outside the ducts or lobules of the breast to nearby breast tissue. Types of invasive breast cancer:

Early breast cancer 

Refers to cancer that is contained within the breast and may have spread to surrounding lymph nodes in the breast or armpit but not anywhere else in the body. The most common types are invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).

Locally advanced breast cancer

The cancer has spread to other areas nearby, such as the chest wall (including the skin and muscles of the chest) and lymph nodes.

Secondary (metastatic or advanced) breast cancer

The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver or lungs.

The type of treatment your radiation oncologist recommends will depend on your diagnosis, if the cancer has spread, your general health and personal preferences.

In most cases, treatment for breast cancer begins with surgery to remove the tumour.  This can be followed by radiation therapy, chemotherapy or endocrine therapy. All treatment is individually planned. Sometimes chemotherapy, endocrine therapy or radiation therapy is given before surgery. Your doctor will advise which treatment schedule is best for you.

Using the latest technology for breast cancer radiation therapy

With no waiting lists, you will have fast access to the latest breast cancer treatments that precisely target the breast and lymph node areas while minimising side-effects and preserving healthy tissue.

Radiation therapy treatment is delivered using external beam radiation therapy. This uses high-energy radiation beams delivered by a linear accelerator (or LINAC) machine to destroy cancer cells.

There are a number of advanced techniques that allow for the delivery of radiation therapy to provide a precise dose to the targeted area.

Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH)

DIBH is available at all our centres. It’s a simple technique used in breast cancer treatment to help target your radiation therapy while minimising any damage to your lungs and heart. It’s used in all left-sided breast cancers and sometimes in right-sided cancers too. For more information click here.

Hypofractionation

This is a method of reducing overall treatment time for the patient by delivering a slightly higher radiation therapy dose for each session. This advanced treatment method allows radiation oncologists to reduce the treatment time and essentially can save the patient weeks of treatment. However not all patients may be suitable for hypofractionation.

Tattoo Free Radiation Therapy 

At GenesisCare we recognise that tattoos may not be an issue for some people, while others can find them to be quite confronting. Advances in technology and treatment protocols in recent years means that radiation therapy can be very accurately localised without the need for permanent skin marks.

At some centres, we use Surface-Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) which uses a sophisticated 3-D camera technology to precisely position you on the treatment bed so that treatment can be accurately targeted. There’s no need for permanent tattoos, and the faster daily treatment set-up means you spend less time at the centre. Find out more.

In the treatment centres that do not have SGRT technology we have alternative techniques to treat patients with breast cancer without the need for permanent markers or tattoos.

Daily Image-guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)

Your radiation therapy treatment schedule at GenesisCare involves daily, rather than weekly, image-guided therapy. This means we can track and target your tumour site with precision, even as it changes size and shape. It also means your treatment is as safe and as effective as it can be.

Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT)

We can offer VMAT radiation therapy to all patients with locally advanced breast cancer who need lymph node radiation therapy.