Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) – Rochester General Hospital has introduced a new breast cancer treatment that is changing the way certain patients undergo treatments.

Many patients will typically go through weeks of radiation treatments after having a lumpectomy. Intraoperative radiation therapy – or IORT – only adds an extra 20-40 minutes to breast surgery.

It allows patients to receive the full radiation dose while they are in the operating room.

“So basically you come in, you get your surgery, you wake up and you’re done,” said Dr. Lori Medeiros, a breast cancer surgeon at RGH. “You’ve had your surgery, you’ve had your radiation therapy. Our focus at the breast center is really about trying to minimize the risk of over treatment and also minimize the risk of under treatment.”

Rochester General Hospital houses the only center in western New York that has this type of breast cancer treatment.