| Every year, hundreds of thousands of women in North | | | | difficult time in their lives, but also created a potentially |
| America are diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of | | | | dangerous situation where cancer may spread due to |
| them are successfully treated, and go on to live | | | | lack of detection and treatment. |
| cancer-free lives. | | | | Eugene Woltering, M.D., at the Louisiana State |
| Some, however, have to deal with the distressing | | | | University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, set |
| possibility of breast cancer cells spreading to | | | | to work to develop a gentler alternative: a radioactive |
| surrounding lymph nodes. Screening for lymph nodes | | | | blue dye that can be administered by injection while |
| cancer has, up to now, been a necessary but painful | | | | the patient is under anesthesia. The dye illuminates |
| process for the breast cancer patient. The traditional | | | | lymph nodes under surgical lights that would be difficult |
| process involves injecting the radioactive tracer while | | | | to see normally. It maps out any areas where the |
| the patient is awake and fully conscious. Many have | | | | cancer may have spread in the lymph nodes. Once |
| described it as being equivalent to the pain during | | | | the areas of concerned are identified by the new |
| childbirth. Some have, understandably, been reluctant to | | | | lymph node cancer tracking system, treatment can be |
| return for further screening. | | | | initiated and focused within those areas. |
| This, of course, meant that in cases where breast | | | | Tests have shown that the new method is just as |
| cancer lumps have re-occurred and the lymph node | | | | effective as the traditional one, but with much less pain, |
| screening process had to be repeated, many women | | | | surely a huge improvement over the previous tracking |
| have postponed, or in some cases, cancelled lymph | | | | method. As an added significant bonus, it has also |
| node cancer tracking procedures. The old process not | | | | been discovered that the new process exposes the |
| only increased the patient's discomfort during a very | | | | screening medical personnel to one-third less radiation. |