New Breast Cancer Treatment

Lower Cost, No Disfigurement With 'MRI-Guided Laser Lumpectomy'

CHICAGO, Posted 4:45 p.m. December 2, 1998 -- There's a revolutionary new way to treat breast cancer that doesn't disfigure a woman's body.

The procedure is called "MRI-Guided Laser Lumpectomy," reports CBS 2 News' Ann Martin. The alternative to surgery was unveiled in Chicago yesterday by doctors at the University of Arkansas.

It combines high-tech imaging and lasers, Martin said. Doctors use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to zero in on the timor, then a fiber-optic wire applies heat and burns the cancer away.

It's a simple outpatient procedure that's less expensive than surgery and saves a woman's breast.

Compiled by Internet Broadcasting Systems Staff