Internal Radiotherapy

Often called Brachytherapy is another type of radiation used to treat cancer. This procedure requires placing radioactive materials inside the patient’s body to destroy cancer cells.

Unlike radiotherapy, the patient’s healthy cells get less radiation and brachytherapy treats only specific parts of the body. Brachytherapy is often used to treat cancers located in the: Head, Neck, Breast, Cervix, Prostate, Eye

Application

The radioactive material (also called implant) can be contained in a seed, ribbon, or capsule, and is then put in place through a catheter, which is a small, stretchy tube. Sometimes, brachytherapy is put in place through a larger device called an applicator. The way the brachytherapy is put in place depends on the type of cancer.

There are two types of brachytherapy, which can either be prescribed in high or low dosages:

  • Interstitial brachytherapy: The radiation material is placed within the tumour, in cases like prostate cancer.
  • Intracavitary brachytherapy: The radiation source is placed within a body cavity, or a cavity created by surgery in cases of cancer of the cervix and vagina.