Types of brachytherapy

Depending on the type of cancer and your radiation oncologist’s recommendation, the radioactive sources may be placed in your body for a limited time or permanently.

Learn more about:

• Temporary brachytherapy
• Permanent brachytherapy

Temporary brachytherapy

With temporary brachytherapy, you may have one or more treatment sessions to deliver the full dose of radiation. The radioactive source can be inserted using applicators such as thin plastic tubes (catheters) or cylinders. It can also be delivered using small discs called plaques. The source is removed at the end of each treatment session. The applicator may be removed at the same time or after the final session.

Temporary brachytherapy using applicators is mostly used for prostate cancer and gynaecological cancers (e.g. cervical and vaginal cancers). Radioactive plaques are used to treat some eye cancers.

Having temporary brachytherapy

Safety precautions for temporary brachytherapy

While the radioactive source is in place, some radiation may pass outside your body. For this reason, hospitals take certain safety precautions to avoid exposing staff and visitors to radiation. Staff will explain any restrictions before you start brachytherapy treatment.

If you have temporary high-dose-rate brachytherapy, once the source is removed, you are not radioactive and there is no risk to other people. You won’t have to take any further precautions.

For low-dose-rate or pulsed-dose-rate brachytherapy, while the radiation source is in place precautions may include:

• hospital staff only coming into the room for short periods of time
• limiting visitors during treatment
• visitors sitting away from you
• avoiding contact with children under 16 and pregnant women.

Permanent brachytherapy

In permanent low-dose-rate brachytherapy, radioactive seeds about the size of a grain of rice are put inside special needles and implanted into the body while you are under general anaesthetic. The needles are removed, and the seeds are left in place to gradually decay.

As the seeds decay, they slowly release small amounts of radiation over weeks or months. They will eventually stop releasing radiation, but they will not be removed. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy is often used to treat early-stage prostate cancers.

Safety precautions for permanent brachytherapy

If you have permanent brachytherapy, you will be radioactive for a short time after the seeds are inserted. The radiation is usually not strong enough to be harmful to people around you, so it is safe to go home. However, you may need to avoid close contact with young children and pregnant women for a short time – your treatment team will advise you of any precautions to take. You will normally be able to return to your usual activities 1–2 days after the seeds are inserted.

→ READ MORE: Other types of internal radiation therapy

For the first few weeks after the seeds were implanted, I thought this is a doddle. Then suddenly, I started getting this really urgent need to urinate. That gave me a few weeks of disturbed sleep, but the urgency gradually eased off and I thought this is pretty good. Now after three years, there’s no sign of the cancer and I’ve had no long-term side effects.

Derek

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