Patient description: The patient is a 45-year-old postmenopausal woman with cytologically confirmed breast cancer. A core biopsy revealed a 3 cm invasive ductal breast carcinoma in the left upper outer quadrant. The tumor is HER2-positive and ER/PR negative. Axillary sampling revealed 5 positive lymph nodes. CXR was remarkable for metastatic lesions. The patient is using multivitamins and iron supplements. She does not smoke or consume alcohol. She is not sexually active and has no children. She is a candidate for tumor resection and agrees to do so prior to chemotherapy.

Clinical trial eligibility criteria: eligible ages (years): 50.0-999.0,  Breast Neoplasms AJCC 7th Edition stage 0 or I (TisN0 ≤ 2 cm or T1N0) histologically confirmed carcinoma of the breast, treated with partial mastectomy. Axillary sampling is required only for cases of invasive cancers. Tumor size is determined by the pathologist. Clinical size may be used if the pathologic size is indeterminate. Patients with invasive cancer must have no positive axillary lymph nodes with at least 6 axillary lymph nodes sampled or a negative sentinel node Negative histologic margins of partial mastectomy or re-excision specimen. Margins generally are positive if there is invasive or noninvasive tumor at the inked resection margin, close but negative if the tumor is within 2 mm of the inked margin and negative if the tumor is at least 2 mm away from the inked edge Invasive ductal, lobular, medullary, papillary, colloid (mucinous), tubular histologies, or mixed histologies (lesions ≤ 2 cm) that are estrogen or progesterone receptor positive and do not exhibit HER2/neu gene amplification OR ductal carcinoma in situ (lesions ≤ 2 cm) Systemic therapy, if planned, must be adjuvant in nature and not be scheduled to begin for at least 4 weeks after completion of HG-PBI Good candidate for treatment per protocol in the judgment of the PI and/or treating physician following simulation Postmenopausal status Age ≥ 50 years at diagnosis Able to understand and willing to sign IRB-approved written informed consent document English speaker  Presence of distant metastases In situ lobular carcinoma or nonepithelial breast malignancies such as sarcoma or lymphoma Proven multicentric carcinoma (tumors in different quadrants of the breast, or tumors separated by at least 4 cm) with other clinically or radiographically suspicious areas in the ipsilateral breast unless confirmed to be negative for malignancy by biopsy Premenopausal status Histologically confirmed positive axillary nodes in the ipsilateral axilla. Palpable or radiographically suspicious contralateral axillary, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, or internal mammary nodes, unless there is histologic confirmation that these nodes are negative for tumor Prior non-hormonal therapy for the present breast cancer, including radiation therapy or chemotherapy Diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosis, scleroderma, or dermatomyositis Diagnosis of a coexisting medical condition which limits life expectancy to < 2 years Diagnosis of psychiatric or addictive disorders that would preclude obtaining informed consent History of other malignancy ≤ 5 years previous with the exception of basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin which were treated with local resection only or carcinoma in situ of the cervix