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December 2017 Mercer Island Living 25 “ by Michelle Ranken B eing diagnosed with breast cancer is scary enough without having to worry about treatment options. Concure Oncology is working to change that with Breast Microseed Treatment®, an incredible new treatment option for early-stage breast cancer. Concure Oncology is a medical device and services company based on Mercer Island that partners with cancer centers of excellence to deliver the procedure to patients with early-stage breast cancer. Breast Microseed Treatment is an FDA-cleared radiation proce- dure that works by implanting tiny low-dose rate radiation seeds into the breast. The seeds deliver the treatment for about 60 days, and then become inactive after 90 days. It’s a post-lumpectomy procedure, which means that it takes place a few weeks after the tumor and surrounding tissue is sur- gically removed from the breast. The seeds destroy any remain- ing cancer cells. “It’s a really simple procedure,” said Sharon Purcell, Brand and Marketing Manager at Concure Oncology. Patients are put under light anesthesia and the treatment is administered in less than one hour. With such a simple process, it isn’t hard to see why the com- pany’s motto is “One Time, One Hour.” Breast Microseed Treatment is indicated for those diagnosed with two types of non-aggressive, early-stage breast cancer (inva- sive ductal carcinoma or DCIS). “About 30 percent of all patients with breast cancer will qualify,” said Purcell. The benefits of such a procedure are numerous - patients can leave the hospital the same day and don’t have to return for any other treatments. While other cancer treatments often have significant side-effects, Breast Microseed Treatment has very minimal side- effects. Furthermore, the survival rate with this treatment is very high, with only a 1.2 percent chance of the cancer returning. “It’s also a beautiful option for working women,” said Purcell. Because the treatment is administered on an outpatient basis, Concure Oncology CEO, Sandra Rorem women don’t have to worry about taking too much time off, and can return to work the next day.” “Many women say it was a no-brainer,” said Purcell on patients’ decision to go through with this treatment. One patient named Day- le said she was surprised at how easy the whole process was. “It was nothing compared to the biopsy and lumpectomy.” Many patients come in with the assumption that they will be com- pletely incapacitated af- ter they go through the treatment. Afterward, however, “some patients have said they almost felt guilty because the treatment was so easy. They say it was as if they never had breast cancer,” said Purcell. In 2014, Concure Oncol- ogy’s CEO, Sandra Ror- em, learned about Breast Microseed Treatment, which had been success- fully used to treat breast cancer in Canada since 2004. Committed to making this kinder, gen- tler treatment available to women everywhere, she and her co-founders bought the company and brought it to the U.S, then partnered with the Swedish Cancer Institute as the first cancer center in the country to offer the pioneering breast cancer treatment (Breast Microseed Treatment is also currently available in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canada and parts of Europe). The next step for Concure Oncology is to get the treatment into regional cancer centers in order to make it avail- able to any woman who needs it. “Many women don’t have cancer treatment sites available near them,” said Purcell. Some end up traveling for extended periods of time and taking extended periods of time off work just to get the necessary treatments for their cancer. Rorem, a long-time resident of Mer- cer Island, believes that Breast Micro- seed Treatment is critical for working women in the U.S. to have access to so that they can return to living their lives in a timely manner. “Our treatment approach is much less invasive … allowing patients to quickly get back to the important aspects of their lives, including family and work,” said Rorem. “Our goal is to make this treatment available to every woman with early-stage breast cancer, no matter where she lives.” “We’re not advocating for Breast Microseed Treatment to replace other treatments,” said Purcell. “But, it’s a critical tool to add to the physician’s toolbox, for the right patient.” Purcell’s number one recommenda- tion for catching cancer early? Regu- lar exams. “It’s nearly 100 percent curable if caught early enough,” she said. “Early detection saves lives.” Concure Oncology
