The Treatment Options

Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation), may be placed inside the body (internal radiation). The type of radiation to be given depends on the type of cancer, its location, how far into the body the radiation will need to go, the patient’s general health and medical history, whether the patient will have other types of cancer treatment, and other factors.

Most people who receive radiation therapy for cancer have external radiation. Some patients have both external and internal.

• External radiation therapy usually is given on an outpatient basis. External radiation therapy is used to treat most types of cancer, including cancer of the bladder, brain, breast, cervix, larynx, lung, prostate, and vagina. In addition, external radiation may be used to relieve pain or ease other problems when cancer spreads to other parts of the body from the primary site.
• Internal radiation therapy (also called brachytherapy) uses radiation that is placed very close to or inside the tumor. The radiation source is usually sealed in a small holder called an implant. Implants may be in the form of thin wires, plastic tubes called catheters, ribbons, capsules, or seeds

RC Cancer Centers is also home to a third method of treatment, called ProstRcision®, which we pioneered. Specifically for prostate cancer patients, ProstRcision uses radioactive seed implants in conjunction with external radiation to cure men of their cancer. ProstRcision requires minor outpatient surgery, followed by a course of radiation.