BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Most women who are diagnosed with early stage breast cancer have typically surgery and then radiation to reduce the chances that the disease will return.

A typical course of radiation occurs in 25 installments given over 5 weeks -- which can be a tough schedule for women to maintain.

But research published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients can get the same benefits with a shorter course of treatment.

In a study of more than 1,200 breast cancer patients, doctors randomly assigned half the women to receive higher doses of radiation over a three-week period.

Results showed that -- despite the higher doses -- women on the shorter course of treatment had no greater risk for side effects such as burning or swelling. Plus, they got the same benefits.

Over a 10-year follow-up, women on the faster schedule were no more likely to have their breast cancer return than those who received traditional radiation. Both groups remained largely cancer free -- just 6 to 7 percent of women had their breast cancer recur.