New research shows targeted radiation works as well as whole-breast radiation for women with early stage breast cancer. Doctors use a special therapy to target only the affected area, instead of exposing the entire breast to radiation.

The technique is called accelerated partial breast irradiation, and it follows a lumpectomy. Surgeons at Virginia Hospital Center inserted a catheter with a saline-filled balloon into the space left from removing the tumor. During each treatment, a machine placed a radioactive seed into the balloon for up to ten minutes. 

The procedure is aimed at patients like Patricia Brempell, who is over 45, had no cancer in her nodules, only one tumor and had early stage cancer. She decided to try it.

"I wanted to get this behind me as quickly as possible," she said. "And (B) my insurance covered it, and (C) wanted to get back to work."

Brempell's mother died of breast cancer. She says she wasn't surprised when doctors found a small tumor in her breast.

"It was a huge possibility since it runs in my family," said Brempell.

Following her lumpectomy, doctors gave Brempell two options: standard external-beam radiation of the whole breast, which would be five days a week, for seven weeks; or the newer internal radiation, which treats only a portion of her breast, twice a day for five days.

Doctors say it works by targeting the site of the original cancer that's at highest risk of recurrence, while sparing the rest of the breast.

"The risk of a failure somewhere else in the breast -- what we call elsewhere failure -- somewhere other than the region that was taken out is only 2 to 3 percent," said Dr. Timothy Jamieson, a radiation oncologist.

Most recurrences of cancer happen in the first five years, and critical new data shows at four years, this treatment's recurrence rate is under three percent, the same as standard radiation.

"This is a tremendous advance because it really allows patients more freedom selecting appropriate therapy that fits their lives the best without compromising care," said Dr. Stephanie Akbari, Medical Director of the Center for Breast Health.

For Brempell, it was the right treatment.

"I felt fortunate I was able to do this," she said.

October marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Virginia Hospital Center will host an educational event about breast cancer treatments this Saturday, October 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, CLICK HERE.