06 September 2010
Bangalore, India
It was all about fighting cancer. In an attempt to build awareness about brachytherapy, one among the many technological revolutions in the healthcare sector, Apollo Hospital organized a live surgery workshop for doctors.
In other types of radiations for cancer treatments, body parts apart from the cancer sites are also exposed. However, in brachytherapy, implants are fixed only in those areas and dosage is given through these, thus the treatment reaches only the specific spots. Brachytherapy can be best explained through the two cases that were demonstrated at the workshop. The first case is that of a 70–year–old patient who was suffering from prostate cancer.
This procedure was conducted by implanting Iridium 192 isotope to keep it in direct contact with the tumor–affected part. This procedure has minimal side effects. There was a live demonstration of another surgery of cancer cervix interstitial brachytherapy, that was conducted on a 50–year–old patient suffering from classical cervical cancer. This procedure is very critical as it requires needles to be placed only into the tumor–affected part without touching the nerves and other body organs.
In selected childhood cancers, brachytherapy can help achieve good control & preserve the organs.
Sr radiation oncologist, Dr Nisar Syed, explained, "High Dose Rate Brachytherapy treatment has become much more effective in controlling prostate cancer. In selected childhood cancers, brachytherapy can help achieve good control and preserve the organs and its functions. In many cases, it’s also an effective alternative to aggressive surgical removal of cancer."
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