Brachytherapy

Permanent prostate brachytherapy Permanent prostate brachytherapy involves placing many radioactive seeds within the prostate to treat prostate cancer. During the procedure, an ultrasound probe is placed in the rectum to help guide the placement of seeds. The seeds emit radiation that dissipates over a few months. Brachytherapy (brak-e-THER-uh-pee) is a procedure used to treat certain types of cancer and other conditions. It involves placing radioactive material inside the body. This is sometimes called internal radiation. Another type of radiation, called external radiation, is more common than brachytherapy. During external radiation, a machine moves around you and directs beams of radiation to specific points on the body. Brachytherapy allows your health care team to use higher doses of radiation than would be possible with external radiation. This is because brachytherapy delivers radiation directly to the treatment area. This lowers the risk of hurting healthy tissue that is nearby. The overall treatment time can be shorter with brachytherapy because a larger dose of radiation can be safely delivered at one time. Why it's done Brachytherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. Some examples include: • Brain cancer • Breast cancer • Cervical cancer • Endometrial cancer • Esophageal cancer • Eye cancer • Gallbladder cancer • Head and neck cancer • Lung cancer • Prostate cancer • Rectal cancer • Skin cancer • Soft tissue sarcomas • Vaginal cancer Brachytherapy is most ...

Coronary brachytherapy is a procedure that helps prevent your blood vessels from becoming blocked after a stent placement. While this therapy is very effective when it comes to preventing additional blockages, there are risks to the procedure. This article gives a step-by-step overview of what to expect if you need coronary brachytherapy, plus information on the risks and benefits of this procedure. With CAD, fats like cholesterol and other minerals In some cases, pieces of these plaques can also break off, causing severe complications like heart attack or stroke. The most common treatment when blood vessels become blocked with plaque from CAD is to place While these stents are usually coated with medications designed to reduce the formation of new plaques or scar tissue, blood vessels treated with stents can be complicated by Restenosis can be treated in two ways: • through the placement of another drug-coated stent inside the first stent • with focus radiation therapy inside the blood vessel to clear the blockage (coronary brachytherapy) When brachytherapy is used for cancer treatment, radiation particles are used to destroy tumors. But with coronary brachytherapy, the procedure has a few more steps. Before your procedure is even scheduled, you will meet with your doctor or medical team to discuss your condition and possible treatments. If coronary brachytherapy is recommended, your medical care team should talk with you about: • why you need coronary brachytherapy • how...

Brachytherapy, or internal radiation therapy, treats prostate, breast, head and neck, and other cancers. Doctors place tiny radioactive pellets inside or next to the tumor. The pellets give off radiation that destroys cancer cells. The treatment spares surrounding healthy tissue and organs. Brachytherapy isn’t used for cancers that have spread. Overview What is brachytherapy? Brachytherapy (pronounced “bray-kee-THEH-ruh-pee”) is a form of Brachytherapy can deliver large amounts of radiation that shrink or destroy Brachytherapy is also called internal radiation therapy. How does brachytherapy work? Radioactive materials implanted inside or beside a tumor release a prescribed radiation dose. Radiation destroys cancer cells or damages their genetic makeup (DNA). Damaged cancer cells can’t grow and multiply. Eventually, they die off. You may receive brachytherapy alone or with other cancer treatments, like electronic beam radiation therapy or surgery. What are the types of brachytherapy? Brachytherapy treatments vary in strength (dosage) and treatment duration. With brachytherapy, your body may give off trace amounts of radiation and potentially expose others. Following your radiation oncologist’s instructions about when and how to interact with others safely if you’re receiving brachytherapy is important. Brachytherapy implants include: • Low-dose rate (LDR): LDR implants release low doses of radiation continuously for one to seven days. As you can expose others to radiation ...

Here, at the UCLA Radiation Oncology Division of Brachytherapy, we are committed to making your cancer treatment a comfortable and successful experience. We offer individualized High Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy for skin cancer, which minimizes the amount of radiation and side effects on nearby healthy tissues. What is Skin HDR Brachytherapy? Skin HDR Brachytherapy is a radiotherapy technique which is performed for certain types of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers. It provides an effective alternative treatment with minimal side effects for selected patients and those who cannot be treated surgically. Benefit of HDR Brachytherapy on skin cancer • May avoid the need for reconstructive surgery. • Reduction in normal tissue injury means more rapid and complete functional recovery. • Shorter overall treatment times than external beam radiation therapy and each fraction (session) of treatment can be completed in a matter of minutes.

Figure 1. Ocular brachytherapy plaque Brachytherapy is a type of radiation therapy. With brachytherapy, radioactive seeds are placed inside or close to the tumor(s). This means that the tumor gets a large amount of radiation, while nearby healthy tissue gets less radiation and is less likely to be damaged. With ocular (eye) brachytherapy, a gold plaque (thin gold sheet) with radioactive seeds is placed on the surface of your eye during a surgery (see Figure 1). The gold protects other areas of your body from radiation from the seeds. The brachytherapy is treating the whole time the plaque is on your eye. This is usually for 2 to 4 days. You will stay in the hospital and be on radioactive isolation during your brachytherapy. To end the brachytherapy, the plaque will be removed during another surgery. Back to top Before Your Plaque Placement Procedure Presurgical testing (PST) Within 30 days of your procedure, you will have an appointment for presurgical testing (PST). The date, time, and location of your PST appointment will be printed on the appointment reminder from your surgeon’s office. You can eat and take your usual medications the day of your PST appointment. During your appointment, you will meet with a nurse practitioner (NP) who works closely with anesthesiology staff (doctors and specialized nurses who will give you medication to put you to sleep during your surgery). Your NP will review your medical and surgical history with you. You will have tests, including a...

Brachytherapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy. It is also known as internal radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment in which ionizing radiation is used to destroy cancer cells and shrink the size of the tumors. The conventional form of radiation therapy is external beam radiation that projects radiation from a machine outside of the body. In case of internal radiation or brachytherapy, radioactive particles or sources that are internally placed in or next to the tumour site, are used to destroy cancer cells. Brachytherapy helps deliver a high radiation dose to the tumor, with minimal exposure to the surrounding healthy tissues.It thus allows delivering high doses of radiation to more-specific areas of the body. Brachytherapy can be used for effective treatment ofcervical,prostate,breast, skin, lung, head and neck, and gum cancer, in addition to tumors located in other parts of the body. Brachytherapy for prostate cancer is a commonly performed procedure. It is also used for the treatment of gum cancer as well. Brachytherapy is an alternative treatment for gum cancer and is conducted who are unfit to undergo a surgery or do not need one. Brachytherapy can be completed in less time than other conventional radiotherapy techniques. Brachytherapy for prostate cancer and other cancers is often performed on an outpatient basis and patients typically have to take fewer brachytherapy sessions, as compared to external radiotherapy treatment for ca...

Permanent prostate brachytherapy Permanent prostate brachytherapy involves placing many radioactive seeds within the prostate to treat prostate cancer. During the procedure, an ultrasound probe is placed in the rectum to help guide the placement of seeds. The seeds emit radiation that dissipates over a few months. Prostate brachytherapy (brak-e-THER-uh-pee) is a form of radiation therapy used to treat prostate cancer. Prostate brachytherapy involves placing radioactive sources in the prostate gland, where the radiation can kill the cancer cells while causing less damage to healthy tissue nearby. Types of prostate brachytherapy Prostate brachytherapy procedures vary based on the type: • High dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. HDR brachytherapy is a temporary type of prostate brachytherapy that involves placing radioactive sources in the prostate gland and delivering a high dose of radiation in a few minutes before the sources are removed. Typical treatment may involve several sessions. • Low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy. LDR brachytherapy is permanent prostate brachytherapy that involves placing radioactive seeds in the prostate gland permanently, where they slowly release radiation over several months. What you experience during brachytherapy depends on whether you receive HDR or LDR treatment. Prostate cancer Prostate cancer occurs in the prostate gland. The gland sits just below the bladder in males. It surrounds the top part of the tube that drains urine from the bladder, ...