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Eary deetction is indeed important.Once a patient has undergone a lumpectomy in order to remove the tumor (while still preserving as much breast tissue as possible), it is likely that doctors will want to follow up with radiation of the area. This helps to keep the cancerous tissue from re-growing. While it is sometimes advisable to use whole-breast radiation, it is not always necessary. In these cases, doctors will utilize internal radiation (also called "partial breast radiation" or "brachytherapy").
This type of procedure utilizes the breast radiation catheters to insert small radioactive "seeds" into the breast tissue where the tumor was removed. The seeds are designed to deliver the proper dose of radiation to treat the cavity, as well as the tissue of the surrounding area. In many cases, the use of breast radiation catheters can lessen the treatment time from five to seven weeks down to five to seven days.
The procedure for implanting breast radiation catheters generally takes about 25 minutes from beginning to end. In some cases, a "balloon" is expanded after being inserted. Treatments will be given once or twice a day through the catheter.
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BREAST CANCER:: "Early detection techniques such as breast self exam (BSEs) or mammograms don't necessarily extend a woman's life; they may just lengthen the period of time she knows she's sick, as well as the time during which she receives treatment. As Dr. McDougall puts it: 'The real beneficiaries of early detection are the providers of health care, who now have a longer time in which to treat the victims before they die.'"
Ouch - sometimes the truth can hurt !
I am sure we'll all continue advising breast self-exams and mammography, even though they do not help ( and can actually harm) because
1. It makes sense . After all, if you pick it up early, isn't it common-sense that treatment will help ? Unfortunately, we refuse to let ugly facts slay a beautiful hypothesis !
2. We've been brainwashed into believing it helps . Repeating something ad nauseam will do this very effectively !
3. It's become a billion dollar industry !
4. We want to believe that we can prevent and treat cancer - it's a helpful delusion to have.
5. We don't want to accept the fact that everything we've done for the last 30 years has been wrong and unhelpful !