Prostate cancer was the third most common primary site cancer treated at the Regional Cancer Center in 2000, following lung and breast cancer.

Men with prostate cancer now have a new treatment option other than external beam radiation or surgery – prostate brachytherapy.

Also known as prostate seed implant therapy, this approach to prostate cancer treatment has become one of the most popular in the U.S. for early stage prostate cancer.

“Prostate brachytherapy has had very high success rates with very low rates of undesirable side effects such as impotence and urinary incontinence,” said John P. Hall, D.O., a Cape Girardeau urologist who with Dr. Miller will perform the procedure.

Brachytherapy involves placing tiny, radioactive “seeds” (about the size of a grain of rice) into the prostate at exact locations predetermined by physicians.

Because all doses of radiation are delivered to the prostate itself, potential exposure to the adjacent bladder, rectum and intestine is minimized, Dr. Miller said.

Typically, a course of 35 to 40 days of radiation therapy is prescribed for men with prostate cancer. “Men who are appropriate candidates for brachytherapy instead have only an outpatient or overnight stay in the hospital and then can resume their daily activities,” Dr. Hall added.

For more than 30 years, Southeast has been a regional leader in providing oncology services, including both chemotherapy and radiation therapy, to thousands of patients.

Hallmarks of Southeast’s cancer program include comprehensive diagnostic services, a 22-bed nursing unit in the Hospital, outpatient treatment services, a full range of physician specialties in medical, surgical and radiation oncology, a guesthouse facility for patients undergoing outpatient cancer therapy, at-home care coordinated through Southeast Home Care and care for terminally ill patients through Southeast Hospice.

Learn more about our Regional Cancer Center