Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is one of the most commonly used therapies for treating different forms of cancer. This effective procedure is often used for treating lung, cervical, endometrial, and prostate cancer. This type of procedure is a good alternative therapy to surgical removal of the infected area. This could potentially save a person's cervix, breast, or prostate with therapy, rather than complete removal. This type of therapy kills the cancerous cells within the tissue, minimizing the tumors that may have formed. Also, by placing the actual radiation material within the tissue, a doctor is able to treat a smaller area with a high dosage of treatment. This works to eliminate the cancerous cells quicker than treatment options that are performed outside the body, such as external beam therapy.

This interesting therapy places radioactive 'seeds' directly within the tissue where cancer has been found. It is usually an outpatient procedure that takes less than one hour. Somtimes, a local anesthetic is used to numb the portion where the seeds are being placed (ex: in treating prostate cancer with this method, the person may be numbed from the waist down). The radioactive material that is typically used for this procedure is Iodine-125, (the radioactive elements may differ, depending on the area being treated).

Temporary and permanent brachytherapy are the two most common forms of mesothelioma treatment. In the temporary treatment, the radioactive 'seeds' are placed within the tissue and then the material is removed after a specific period of time. Permanent therapy uses more than one hundred seeds that are implanted within the tissue. The material is placed in the tissue permanently to kill off existing cancer cells that are damaging the tissue and surrounding organs. The seeds diminish over time and the radioactive therapy slowly stops.

There is a high and low dose for this medication, and a doctor should determine which is right for the patient (depending on the status of the cancer and the patient's overall ability to tolerate the medication). Also, side effects may be prevalent within some patients. These symptoms may include pain after the initial procedure and swelling in the area where the medication has been implanted.

Last modified: December 09 2009.