Scientists may have just discovered a way to destroy early stage breast cancer in rapid speed, overhauling long treatment programs, with new research suggesting that the key is high doses of radiation.

That may not sound like a good idea, and originally the medical community agreed it was best to subject those who have been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer to lower doses of radiation over a longer period to play it safe, but new research says that’s not necessary, according to a UPI report.

In reality, a shorter treatment involving larger blasts of radiation may work just as well than the standard procedure, and give women a higher quality of life by not having to be in treatment for so long. It’s a simple adjustment that could mean big benefits for the medical community — patients wouldn’t need to endure long, exhausting treatments and they could take care of their families sooner, a big concern for many women who come down with the disease.

The study examined women who receive conventionally fractioned whole breast irradiation (CF-WBI), the standard procedure of small doses over a longer period of time, and compared it to hypofractioned whole breast irradiation (HF-WBI), which uses a high dose of radiation over a shorter period of time to attack the cancer.

The study found that there was very little change in effectiveness, but the HF-WBI procedure had the added benefit of shorter treatment times resulting in a higher quality of life.

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center performed the research and said in statement that many with early stage breast cancer are busy working moms who really want to avoid long treatments. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Oncology. It involved 287 women with early stage cancer, who were all randomly assigned to each group.