Either before or during your procedure, your healthcare team will use special imaging equipment, such as ultrasound, X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT scan) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to get a clear picture of your tumor. This information will help locate the position and size of the tumor, as well as enable your radiation oncologist to determine the radiation dose needed and where the radiation sources should be placed in or next to the tumor.
Brachytherapy is usually an outpatient procedure, which means you most likely won’t need to spend the night at the hospital or be admitted. You will need someone to drive you to and from your procedure.
Once you get home, you can resume your normal eating habits, have visitors, and get back to normal life. You should avoid strenuous physical activity for a few days and follow the specific instructions that your doctor gives you when you are released from the hospital. Generally, patients resume their normal activities within three to four days.
Your radiation oncologist will tell you how often you need to be seen after your brachytherapy procedure. You will need to be checked for treatment progress, treatment side effects, and to make sure the cancer has not recurred. You can expect your follow-up appointments to be more frequent during the first five years following treatment.
