Shorter Radiation therapy Not a Bad Idea

“I started my residency in 1993,” Dr. Freedman said. “That was drilled into us”: Shorter and more intense radiation therapy “was a bad idea and would have a bad cosmetic result.”

But with improved equipment and methodology, he said, the clinical trials found that cosmetic results were just as good with the shorter treatment. “They did not just publish that the cure rates were the same, but they published very in-depth cosmetic assessments, particularly the British, who took pictures that were graded by blinded observers,” he said.

“That’s when the tide started turning.”