David Barron, MD, a radiation oncologist in our Lorain market, first studied prone breast treatment during his residency training.
This training took place at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, where the technique originated. Today, having used the treatment for about 10 years, Dr. Barron is eager to bring it to our ministry, which will be a first for Lorain, Ohio.
The treatment, also known as prone breast radiation therapy, is for a select population of breast cancer patients.
It involves placing the patient face down on a special padded table for appropriate immobilization while delivering radiation in a manner that spares as much surrounding healthy tissue as possible. This unique treatment technique is ideally suited for left-sided breast cancers, as it spares the heart tissue and, in many cases, also spares surrounding healthy lung tissue when compared to treating patients on their backs or supine position.
It can also be well suited for patients with larger breasts as it may help decrease the severity of skin-related side effects in these patients.
A prone table is now in place at the Mercy Health – O’Brien Cancer Center, having arrived earlier this year. Our team has started training on how to perform this specialized treatment for patients and is poised to begin treatments in late 2024.
“The prone position allows radiation to be delivered with high precision while also limiting exposure to nearby healthy tissues,” Dr. Barron explains. “In this way, we can help reduce the risk of immediate and delayed side effects.”
More precise doses can mean fewer doses, too. In the case of radiation treatments, a shorter treatment course is a very attractive option, not only in terms of convenience but also in terms of efficacy compared to more traditional longer courses of radiation.
Prone treatments can also allow for a more even distribution of the radiation in appropriately selected patients, which can effectively reduce the degree of skin irritation that patients may experience after completing radiation compared to traditional supine breast radiation.
“With the patient positioned on their bellies, the breast tissue falls forward and away from the patient through an opening in the prone board, thus allowing for less chest wall dose as a result,” Dr. Barron adds. “This may help improve longer-term cosmetic outcomes.”
The feedback from women who have experienced prone breast treatment has been very favorable, so Dr. Barron and his team are eager to unveil it at our cancer center.
The prone treatment joins a host of recent improvements at the center over the past three years, including the addition of a new linear accelerator in 2023, as well as the expansion of breast brachytherapy services and ongoing updates to the facility’s exterior, which were made possible through generous donations by Patrick and Janet O’Brien.
Our cancer program in Lorain is accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC), a recognition it has held since 1991. This recognizes our ministry’s delivery of high-quality, innovative patient care through its various cancer-related programs focusing on the full spectrum of cancer care, which include prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease and end-of-life care.
Learn more about the cancer care and oncology services we provide at Mercy Health.
