When Is Internal Radiation Therapy Used?

uterine cancer, cancer of the uterus, endometrial cancer, symptoms, signs, statistics, treatment, causes, advanced, stages, prognosis, types, metastatic, surgery, uterus, uterine, endometrium, endometrial, hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, womb cancer, cancer of the endometrium, risk factors

When Is Internal Radiation Therapy Used?
Your doctor may decide that very intense radiation given to a small area of your body is the best way to treat your cancer. Internal radiation therapy places the source of the high-energy rays as close as possible to the cancer cells so that fewer normal cells are exposed to radiation. By using internal radiation therapy, the doctor can give a higher total dose of radiation in a shorter time than is possible with external treatment. Instead of using a large radiation machine, the radioactive material is placed directly into (or as close as possible to) the affected area. Some of the radioactive substances used for internal radiation treatment include radium, cesium, iridium, iodine, phosphorus, and palladium.

Internal radiation therapy often is used for cancers of the head and neck, breast, uterus, thyroid, cervix, and prostate. Your doctor may recommend a combination of internal and external radiation therapy.

Implant radiation as used in this section means internal radiation treatment. You also may hear the terms interstitial radiation, intracavitary radiation, or brachytherapy; each is a form of internal radiation therapy. Some people use the term "brachytherapy" whenever they are talking about any form of internal radiation therapy.

When interstitial radiation is given, the radiation source is placed right in the affected tissue, usually in small tubes or containers. These implants may be temporary or permanent. When intracavitary radiation is used, a container of radioactive material is placed in a cavity of the body such as the uterus. In brachytherapy, the radioactive source, which is sealed in a small container, is placed on the surface of the body near the tumor or a short distance from the affected area. The radioactive source also may be delivered to the tumor through tubes; this is called remote brachytherapy. Internal radiation also may be given by injecting a solution of radioactive substance into the bloodstream or a body cavity. When the substance is injected, it is not sealed in a container and may be called unsealed internal radiation therapy.

How Is the Implant Placed In the Body?
For most types of implants, you will need to be in the hospital and have general or local anesthesia while the doctor places the container for the radioactive material in your body. In many hospitals, the radioactive material is placed in the container after you return to your room so that others are not exposed to radiation.

To get the radiation as close as possible to the cancer, doctors may use implants of radioactive material sealed in wires, seeds, capsules, or needles. The type of implant and the method of placing it depend on the size and location of the cancer. Implants may be put right into the tumor, in special applicators inside a body cavity, on the surface of a tumor, or in the area from which the tumor has been taken.