Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) is among the first in the U.S. with a new FDA-cleared MammoSource™ HDR (high dose rate) brachytherapy afterloader, developed specifically to work with MammoSite for treating breast cancer. The hospital is now offering breast cancer patients the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System, a radiation therapy device designed to make it easier for more women to consider the choice of lumpectomy for breast cancer treatment. By internally delivering radiation directly to the tissue surrounding the original tumor, MammoSite minimizes radiation exposure to healthy tissue, and its treatment course of one to five days reduces the time and travel burdens often associated with radiation therapies.

CVMC is the only facility in the area that can accommodate the MammoSite surgical procedure and the brachytherapy afterloader that provides the radiation therapy component of the MammoSite procedure.

The results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (October 2002) found equivalent survival rates for women who undergo breast conservation therapy (tumor excision via lumpectomy, followed by external beam radiation therapy to reduce the likelihood of recurrence) as those who have a mastectomy to treat breast cancer. Despite comparable long-term survival rates, up to 40 percent of patients with early-stage breast cancer still choose to have a mastectomy.

"This new partial breast irradiation procedure is a tremendous benefit to patients," said J. Anthony Rose, President and CEO of Catawba Valley Medical Center. "Because of its shortened radiation treatment schedule, qualified patients can now complete a full course of treatment in five days instead of seven weeks in the traditional treatment schedule. Also, this procedure greatly minimizes the radiation dosage and possible damage to normal tissue surrounding the treatment site."

The MammoSite device is a balloon catheter that is inserted into the cavity created by a lumpectomy (the surgical removal of a breast tumor). MammoSite delivers radiation from inside the lumpectomy cavity over a course of five days. The device targets radiation to the area where tumors are most likely to recur, while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the MammoSite RTS for use in May 2002. Safety and performance of the device for delivery of internal radiation were evaluated in a multi-center study, which involved women with early-stage breast cancer. The results of the study were published in the International Journal of Radiology*Biology*Physics (February 2003). Since MammoSite became commercially available, thousands of women have opted for this treatment in lieu of a six-week course of radiation therapy. MammoSite is now available at more than 250 centers nationwide.

Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) is a 258-bed, not-for-profit, county-owned healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for preventative medicine and acute care. Diagnostic capabilities include state-of-the-art MRI, IMRT, and CAT scanners as well as fully equipped Cardiac Catheterization Lab. The medical center's Cancer Center was accredited by the American College of Surgeons as the Catawba Valley's first comprehensive community hospital cancer program. CVMC also serves the community through eight medical practice offices and the HealthFirst Center in the Valley Hills Mall, Hickory, a convenient location for health education and wellness services. CVMC is accredited as a Magnet facility and a Choice Hospital.