Brachytherapy

Derived from ancient Greek words for "short distance" (brachy) and "treatment" (therapy), it is sometimes called seed implantation. Brachytherapy is an outpatient procedure used in the treatment of several different diseases, including prostate cancer, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer and coronary artery disease.

Small radioactive metal spheres, or "seeds," are carefully placed inside the cancer, or in the case of coronary artery disease, scar tissue, and positioned in a way that will attack the tissue most efficiently. Brachytherapy has been proven effective and safe, providing a good alternative to surgical removal of the prostate and cervix, while reducing the risk of some long-term side effects.

In the treatment of prostate cancer, the radioactive seeds are about the size of a grain of rice, and give off radiation that travels only a few millimeters to kill nearby cancer cells. There are two different kinds of brachytherapy: permanent, when the seeds remain inside of the body, and temporary, when the seeds are placed inside the body then removed. With permanent implants, the radioactivity of the seeds wears off over time while the actual seeds remain in the treatment area.