Brachytherapy Brachytherapy is a cancer treatment option in which radioactive sources are placed in or near the cancerous tumor delivering a high radiation dose to the tumor while protecting healthy cells around the tumor from radiation exposure. This treatment is commonly used with cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, esophagus, gynecologic, anal/rectal, head, and neck. Cancer is a disease effecting millions around the world with no cure.("What is Brachytherapy?", 2015). Survival rates of those cancers vary. Esophageal cancer has only a 17% survival rate while prostate cancer has a 98% survival rate. ("Find Cancer Statistics", 2015) Other treatments for these types of cancer include: chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, targeting…show more content… Brachytherapy can be a sole form of treatment or paired with surgery to remove final traces of cancer after surgery is performed. ("Brachytherapy", 2014)Brachytherapy uses After-loading to load a catheter with a radioactive source after it has been placed in or near the tumor site. The catheter is connected to a remote that controls after-loading system, it different than other after-loading therapy because it treats an area using an inflatable balloon catheter that shapes to the cavity from where the tumor is removed for the patient. The catheter is placed in the tumor bed and inflated with a solution consisting mostly of saline. It is implanted into the target tumor cavity. Because of the complexity of the procedure and the need for image-based treatment planning, all patients undergo a computerized tomography scan with the catheter in place prior to receiving the radiation to localize critical structures and the tumor bed. (Onc,1997). Brachytherapy comes from: palladium, cesium, iodine, gold, and iridium. Gold is relatively stable while only one isotope of cesium is stable, making all other isotopes unstable. Both alpha decay and beta decay are common for these elements depending on the isotope used, but that isotope is patient specific. Half-lives are used to choose the type of material to use and plan the treatment regimen. It also determines how long radiation safety precautions must be taken following treatment. These elements combined with gamma rays are what make up the therapy. ("Brachytherapy in Canada”,
