Brachytherapy: Fighting Cancer At Its Source

Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy that places a radioactive source (often a seed) inside or near cancerous tissue. Cape Fear Valley Cancer Center treats breast, gynecologic and prostate cancers with brachytherapy in less time and with fewer side effects.

MammoSite® Radiation Therapy System: New, Powerful Five-Day Treatment For Breast Cancer
MammoSite is a new form of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment for patients fighting early-stage breast cancer. 

It works by delivering radiation to the site of the breast where cancer is most likely to recur. MammoSite can be given in five days on an outpatient basis.

The treatment is a two-step process:

• Using a small catheter, a surgeon inserts a small, soft balloon inside the lumpectomy cavity.

• A tiny, but powerful, radioactive seed is placed within the balloon by a computer-controlled machine, under the direction of the radiation oncologist. This is repeated twice a day, for five days, with each treatment lasting only a few minutes.

Prostate Seed Implants
The Radiation Oncology Department added a new treatment for prostate cancer in 2001. Prostate seed implants use tiny radioactive pellets, called seeds, that are permanently implanted into the prostate gland. By implanting seeds within the malignant tissue, prostate seed implants concentrate radiation to the tumor site while minimizing exposure to surrounding tissue.

Recent clinical data suggest that prostate seed implant offers disease-free survival rates comparable to surgery and external beam radiation. It may offer lower rates of long-term side effects such as impotence and urinary incontinence. In addition, it is a minimally invasive approach performed on an outpatient basis, with a shortened recovery time.

Read more about prostate seed implant treatment at Cape Fear Valley Cancer Center.

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