Wheeling, WV -- It's a breakthrough treatment for breast cancer.

Women right here in the Ohio Valley now can keep their breast -- and keep up their busy routines while undergoing radiation treatment.

If that sounds like great news -- there is more.

When Ruth Davis was diagnosed with breast cancer she was relieved to find that she could undergo a breast conserving lumpectomy, but concerned that seven weeks of external beam radiation treatment would be necessary afterwards.

She said the two hour drive to have the radiation was not an option.

Fortunately the FDA had approved a new partial breast eradiation treatment called mammosite.

Mammosite targets the breast cancer from inside the breast and is delivered in five days.

It is a form of partial breast irradiation treatment that focuses the radiation exposure to the tissue around the area where the tumor was removed.

And unlike external beam radiation there is much less risk of damaging healthy tissue.

Dr. Jeffrey Falk from UPMC says, "When I see a patient with a new diagnosis of breast cancer one of her primary concerns is 'Will I have to have a massectomy or not?'

The mammosite catheter in conjunction with a lumpectomy allows a woman to keep her breast and get through her radiation treatment in a timely fashion.

This is an excellent thing for women who have busy lives, that are professional working women, to get back to the things that they love to do."

To begin the therapy -- the patient has a surgical procedure called a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous tumor.

Once the tumor is gone radiation therapy is needed used to help prevent the cancer from coming back.

So after the lumpectomy the surgeon places the mammosite balloon in the center of the surgical cavity.

The balloon is then inflated and during the radiation treatment a tiny radioactive seed is inserted in the catheter and placed in the center of the balloon.

The seed irradiates the tumor site and the area immediately surrounding the cavity.

After the patient recieves the prescribed dose of radiation over a five to ten minute period, the seed is removed from the balloon.

And after five days of treatment the balloon is deflated and easily removed from the breast.

This procedure was a success for Ruth Davis --- a year later and she is still cancer free.

Davis says, "I would recommend the mammosite therapy to other women because of duration of treatment and also because of the targeted area of the radiation it preserved the other healthy tissue in my breast. "

Wheeling Hospital does the mammosite treatment.

And although it takes less time and promises less risk to healthy tissue --- a recent study in the journal of the national cancer institute shows that there is not a greater risk of getting cancer again.

If you want more information on mammosite - click here.