Our department offers high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, a technically advanced form of cancer treatment, as an option to patients with gynecologic and other cancers (e.g., breast, head and neck, esophagus, lung, anorectal, bile duct, sarcoma). High localized doses of radiation are inserted temporarily, delivering the radiation quickly to the tumor and limiting the dose on adjacent body organs. HDR can often be done on an outpatient basis, and can reduce treatment time from six to eight weeks of daily external radiation therapy to as little as three to 10 days, depending on the type of cancer being treated. If patients also need chemotherapy, HDR brachytherapy allows them to start that treatment sooner,  improving their chances for a cure. Unlike low-dose rate brachytherapy, physicians know what the final doses will be before any radiation treatment is given. Compared to conventional treatments, there can be fewer side effects, as well. After treatment, the radiation source is removed from the patient and the patient is no longer radioactive.

To learn more about HDR brachytherapy call us at (916) 734-8252.