If one goes by the report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is increasing at an alarming rate. A total of 41,116 women and 375 men died from breast cancer in the year 2005.

A new Radiation therapy can treat a woman with early-stage breast cancer in almost half time period as compared with the traditional treatment.

According to a new study, a 21 day course can be as effective as a 42 day traditional course to cure an early-stage breast cancer. This was revealed during an annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The new technique is called an accelerated hypofractionated and is much different from the other treatments. "We cut the duration of radiation treatment in half", says study researcher Manjeet Chadha, MD, a radiation oncologist at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. “Moreover, European and Canadian studies have already shown that a short course of radiation is just as effective as the conventional longer course”, Chadha says.

This concept in addition to being shorter, is also less expensive, claims the doctor.