Prostate Seed Implantation

Posted by CancerInformation on October 27th, 2013

Recent research has shown that approximately 200,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the US, every single year. The risk of prostate cancer increases, as you get older, especially after the age of fifty. Even though the causes of this form of cancer are unclear, many effective medical treatment procedures have been highly successful in eliminating this life-threating disease. Depending on the risk group or the stage of the cancer, experts at prostate cancer centers choose specific treatment methodologies.

Seed Brachytherapy is one of the most common prostate cancer treatment techniques and this is related to prostate seed implants. Ever since it became an alternative to complex surgeries in 1980, this therapy is being used widely all over the world to treat this deadly disease. In this treatment technique, special radioactive seeds are implanted in the body of the cancer patient. The seeds are implanted directly inside the prostate gland, near the site of the cancer cells.

Today, with the help of advanced ultrasound guidance, this seed implantation process is a very simple one. The seeds are pushed inside using a thin needle after proper planning, after analyzing various scans and ultrasound outputs. The whole procedure is performed under light anaesthesia to ensure that the patient does not feel uncomfortable during the implantation. Prostate seed implants do not follow the anal route like a biopsy; rather the seeds are implanted through the skin between the scrotum and anus. Seed implantation has very less side effects when compared with other treatment techniques, which are generally used to treat prostate cancer.

The radioactive material present inside the specially made titanium seeds, kill cancer cells in their close vicinity. Generally, a patient who undergoes this prostate seed implantation treatment can get back to his normal life within a day or two.

About Author
Dr. Echt and his team at the Prostate Seed Institute offer the most highly sophisticated methods of radiation therapy available in the United States, equal to that found in major medical centers and academic settings. These include prostate seed implantation, high dose radiation implants, and external beam radiation with image-guided and intensity-modulated (IGRT and IMRT) capabilities.

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CancerInformation
Joined: September 29th, 2013
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