National TRIUMPH-T Clinical Trials Begin – Linda Ann Smith, MD, F.A.C.S.

A new national clinical trial focused on the treatment of breast cancer patients has begun. The TRIUMPH-T Trials are now running in several different locations across the United States including places like Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Indiana, California and Arizona.

In Scottsdale, Arizona at the Arizona Breast Cancer Specialists treatment center doctors are treating patients from the inside out using Brachytheraphy. This breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer has significant improvements over traditional radiation therapy. Brachytherapy uses radiation that targets just the cancer tumor itself.

The procedure uses small flexible tubes (catheters) to surround the cancerous area. A radioactive seed the size of pencil lead is then ran down the catheter confining the radiation treatment to just the localized area where the cancer exists. This form of therapy has cut treatment times down from six and a half weeks to just two days. TRIUMPH-T also has fewer side-effects and cost 70% less than traditional radiation therapy.