Jun 22, 2009 4:37 pm US/Eastern
Health: Brachytherapy Treatment
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
71-year-old Stan Wortman was one of the first in the Philadelphia area to undergo brachytherapy 13 years ago.
"It was easy, I came here, checked in. They gave me the brachytherapy and I left," said Stan.
With brachytherapy, doctors implant 80 to 120 permanent radioactive metal seeds, each the size of a grain of rice. They emit targeted radiation sparing healthy tissues surrounding the prostate, killing cancer, with minimal side effects.
"Mostly urinary frequency the first couple of months. It appears that potency is preserved a little bit better than that of external radiation," said Dr. Adam Dicker, Radiation Oncologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.
He says the procedure is not difficult. They use ultrasound and x-ray in the operating room to make sure the seeds are planted in the targeted area.
"It takes a fair bit of training to become quite good at it because it's a very operator-dependent procedure," said Dr. Dicker.
Since Stan had such great success, he was disappointed to hear about the mistakes at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
"I think it's very sorry that somebody had to mess up what is such an ideal therapy for men to be able to go through," said Stan.
Brachytherapy is only appropriate for certain prostate cancer patients. Experts say it's important to make sure your doctor has a lot of experience with the treatment.
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