Focused Therapy: Usually, women who have breast cancer that needs radiation therapy have to endure weeks of treatment that involves hitting their entire breast with an X-ray beam. This often leaves the breast scarred and discolored. One of my patients who owns a retail business has a darker area of skin on one side of her neck thanks to her radiation therapy. She doesn't mind it usually. But not long ago one of her customers licked her finger and reached over and rubbed her neck saying, "Honey, you're neck's dirty." (What can you say to such rudeness?)

But now, there's a new type of radiation therapy that delivers the dose internally, to the tumor site. It isn't for every case of breast cancer. The tumor has to be localized and the patient has to be of a certain age. It's also new enough that the effectiveness has yet to be proven. But it certainly looks promising.