Identification

• Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy. This method of therapy uses small implants to generate the radiation instead of a machine.
  
  

Indications

• Brachytherapy is often recommended as a type of treatment for men whose prostate cancer is detected in its early stages and in men with small prostate glands.
  
  

Mechanism

• With brachytherapy, a radioactive piece of material is implanted within the tumor. This radioactive "seed" then emits high energy radiation which kills the cancer cells and shrinks the tumor.
  
  

Materials

• The tiny pellets, approximately the size of a grain of rice, are made of a radioactive substance such as iodine-125 or palladium-103.
  
  

Placement

• The pellets are placed with the help of MRI, CT or ultrasound imaging, as well as a computer which will help ensure that the pellets are properly placed.