Brachytherapy

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Definition
Why it's done
Risks

How you prepare
What you can expect
Results

Definition

About half of all people treated for cancer receive some form of radiation therapy — the use of high-powered radiation to kill cancer cells. The majority of people receive radiation therapy from a machine outside of their body, a treatment called external beam radiation therapy. But a different type of radiation therapy called brachytherapy allows doctors to place radioactive material inside your body.

Brachytherapy delivers higher doses of radiation to more-specific areas of the body, compared with the conventional form of external beam radiation therapy. Brachytherapy may cause fewer side effects, and the treatment time is usually shorter with brachytherapy.

Why it's done