Permanent Seed Brachytherapy

Permanent seed brachytherapy also known as low dose-rate brachytherapy, involves having tiny radioactive seeds or pellets implanted in your prostate gland. Radiation from the seeds destroys cancer cells in the prostate. You may be suitable for this treatment if your cancer is thought to be contained within the prostate gland.

Advantages
• You will be in hospital for just one or two days for the treatment.
• Recovery is quick so most men can return to their normal activities a couple of days after treatment.
• You will have a shorter period of anesthetic with brachytherapy compared with surgery as the procedure is quicker. This means you may recover more quickly from the anesthetic.
• The radiation is inside the prostate gland and does not travel far, so there may be less damage to the surrounding areas.
• There may also be less damage to the blood vessels and nerves that control erections than after other prostate cancer treatments.

Disadvantages
• Brachytherapy can cause side effects such as urinary, bowel and erection problems.
• It requires one or two anesthetics, depending on the method used. Anesthetic can have side effects.
• It may be some time before you will know whether the treatment has been successful.