Leesburg, Fla. - InterCommunity Cancer Centers (ICCC) in Leesburg has announced that it is offering the new AccuBoost technology for the treatment of breast cancer. AccuBoost is an innovative image-guided technology designed to offer more targeted, less invasive treatment and it is the first technology to allow High Dose Rate (HDR) treatment of breast cancer using digital mammography for localization and surface delivery of radiation.

Avid skydiver and Leesburg resident Katherine Post, 33, was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer in April 2013 after she found a suspicious lump in her left breast following a self-examination. Having made 31 jumps out of an airplane, none of these free falls were as frightening as the day she was diagnosed. After she underwent a lumpectomy and eight rounds of chemotherapy, her radiation oncologist Dr. Alison Calkins of ICCC informed her that she was an ideal candidate for AccuBoost.

Prior to the advent of AccuBoost, partial breast irradiation treatment was performed using more invasive techniques, such as the insertion of multiple protruding catheters or inflatable balloon devices into the breast. AccuBoost allows the physician to see the tissue that needs treatment in real time, enabling radiation oncologists to select the area for radiation just prior to delivery and administer the dose only to the affected tissue. AccuBoost can be delivered either prior to or after the main external beam portion of the patient's treatment. During the treatment, the patient's breast is immobilized and imaged without the excessive discomfort commonly caused by mammograms. A special applicator is then positioned to deliver the radiation with greater accuracy and virtually eliminate unnecessary exposure to the heart, lungs and chest wall.
"We continue to make significant progress in developing advanced, non-invasive radiation treatments for breast cancer patients. AccuBoost is the latest example of how this innovative technology can accurately target and treat a patient's cancer without damaging healthy tissue and organs," says Dr. Calkins.

Patients such as Post receive AccuBoost treatments daily for five to eight days, with the beam targeting different angles during each treatment to ensure that the entire surface is radiated. Most patients experience no side-effects during or after the treatments.

"I would certainly recommend AccuBoost to other patients because the treatments were short and I experienced no side-effects," says Post, who will complete her breast cancer treatment on December 27. "I am hoping I can make a celebratory jump this holiday season as a breast cancer survivor."

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