Brachytherapy has been proven as a highly effective prostate cancer treatment. This outpatient procedure, which is usually finished in about an hour, uses radiation in the form of tiny “seeds” that are carefully injected via a needle-stick into the prostate, near the tumor. There is no cutting or suturing, and patients may return to 100% physical function within 48 hours. The seeds slowly releaseradiation to kill the cancer cells, with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. About the size of a grain of rice, the seeds emit radiation over several weeks or months, getting weaker over time. Because the seeds’ radioactivity fades, patients don’t need to undergo a separate procedure to remove them.
A new video details the brachytherapy experience through the patient’s perspective.
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This post was written by Louis Potters, MD, co-director of the North Shore-LIJ Cancer Institute and chair of radiation medicine for the North Shore-LIJ Health System.
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