So successful are the techniques that a team led by local cancer experts has published an Australian-first evaluation of the curative approach.

Associate Professor Tom Shakespeare, a radiation oncologist working in the Mid North Coast and Northern NSW Local Health Districts, led the evaluation which examined the long-term outcomes of the techniques.

"Breast cancer can be cured with a combination of surgery and post-operative radiation therapy," A/Professor Shakespeare said.

"We have treated more than 3,500 women with curative breast radiation in the Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie radiation oncology centres at the Mid North Coast Cancer Institute (MNCCI) and the North Coast Cancer Institute (NCCI) centre in Lismore."

Each year, around 190 women are diagnosed with breast cancer on the Mid North Coast and 260 in Northern NSW, according to Cancer Institute NSW figures. The techniques evaluated include hypofractionation (treating in fewer sessions), intensity-modulated radiation therapy (highly targeted) and treating women in the prone (face down) position.

"These new techniques are able to substantially reduce the side-effects of treatment, in particular, prone breast positioning is beneficial as radiation is distributed evenly and accurately, limiting exposure to the rest of the body.

"The combination of these three techniques has been in use at the MNCCI and NCCI since 2012, and we were one of the first centres in Australia to adopt this method."

The evaluation followed 155 patients from the Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Lismore areas who were treated using this technique, and the results were excellent.

"Our report is the first of its kind in Australia, and only the second publication of its kind in the world," A/Prof Shakespeare said.

"We report on outcomes five years after radiation therapy. In our evaluation no patient had a cancer recurrence in the treated breast. We also found that no patient had significant side effects, and all evaluated patients rated their cosmetic outcome as good or excellent."

The outcomes after using this technique have been published in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists' Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.

The Mid North Coast Local Health District invested $21.38 million in Cancer Services across the region in 2019-20.

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