Brachytherapy

BRACHYTHERAPY: THE SUBTLE YET EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR CANCER.

Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation therapy used to treat cancer. It places radioactive sources like seeds, capsules, ribbons inside the body of a patient to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. This facilitates the use of radiation therapy to treat the specific affected areas posing lesser risk against radiation to surrounding organs. It is widely used in the treatment of various cancer affected areas like the head and neck, breast, cervix, prostate, and eye.

A surgeon named Robert Abbe and Danlos carried out extensive work on Brachytherapy at St. Luke’s and Memorial Hospital in New York Curie institute in Paris respectively. In 2005 the first Robotic delivery of Prostate seed therapy was introduced and Brachytherapy has been developing since then in the aspect of technological innovations so that the harm done by radioactive materials to humans can be minimized as much as possible.

Compared to External Beam Radiation therapy which is done by sending radiation into the body through a machine, Brachytherapy is less riskier, less time taking and more effective as higher doses of radiation can be injected to the target area at once.

The procedure of sending radiation through Brachytherapy varies according to the type of Cancer.

For instance, Interstitial Brachytherapy is used to treat Prostate Cancer in which the source of radiation is placed inside the tumor. Intracavity brachytherapy is used to treat Cervical Cancer in which the source of radiation is placed in a body cavity ( such as Vagina in case of Cervical Cancer ) or a cavity created by surgery. Episcleral brachytherapy is used to treat Melanoma, an eye condition in which the source of radiation is attached to the eye.

Brachytherapy is of three different kinds depending on the type of treatment needed. In High-dose-rate brachytherapy, radiation is injected into the body and can be an out-patient procedure in some cases, as the procedure does not take much time and

can be carried without complicated techniques involved. The body does not emit radioactivity and there will not be restrictions on that part. In Low-dose-rate brachytherapy, radiation injected in the specific body part is left in that organ for a fixed amount of time with all the necessary precautions. The body may emit radioactivity for a considerable amount of time and restrictions are placed upon visitors and carrying out daily activities which will be lifted in course of time. In Permanent Brachytherapy as the name indicates the source of radiation will be placed in the body forever and the body may emit radioactivity for which there will be restrictions on certain tasks and meeting pregnant people and children who come under riskier categories for radioactivity. However restrictions will be lifted in due course and usually there will not be any complications. All these three types are painless procedures and any inconvenience caused during treatment should be reported.

Major benefits of Brachytherapy are Surgery is not inevitable and it is time conserving treatment. A patient need not stay for so many days in the hospital, need not fear pain and sleepless nights due to the trauma of being hospitalized due to Cancer and it’s treatment. Resuming of daily routine occurs much faster than it does in any other treatment and the occurrence of side effects are also comparatively low. Research also shows that sexual dysfunctions and bladder abnormalities are also comparatively low when Brachytherapy is used. Brachytherapy can also be used along with other side treatments and is proven to be highly clinically effective. Most importantly there are no such side effects like nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, hair loss when Brachytherapy is performed which is completely opposite when compared to other kinds of Cancer treatment like Chemotherapy.

Advantages of Brachytherapy weigh more than disadvantages and the major disadvantages are it can lead to Infertility and Bowel dysfunctions in some conditions. It is not at all recommended to use on pregnant women and children due to the involvement of radioactive elements.

The cost of Brachytherapy varies according to the kind of treatment and the technique used. It is less expensive than surgery and High-dose rate Brachytherapy is more expensive than Low-dose rate Brachytherapy. However Brachytherapy has successfully eliminated Cancer in most of the cases and has been advancing with time. Since each person reacts to treatment differently and follows different lifestyle side effects may occur due to various possible reasons and can be different for different persons.