High dose brachytherapy

The treatment of lung cancer in the vicinity of the bronchial tubes consists of placing a thin plastic tube, called a catheter, into the bronchial through the nasal cavity. This usually requires the administration of a local anesthetic or a general sedative. The catheter is then attached to the HDR remote afterloader. During the treatment, the radioactive source will traverse through the catheter and stop at the treatment site for a length of time necessary to administer the prescribed dose.

Vaginal Cylinder treatments are most commonly performed on patients who have had a hysterectomy. In this scenario the applicator has a central metallic tube in which the radioactive source will travel. The cylinder is inserted into the vagina and will remain there for the duration of the treatment. Typically, the total preparation and treatment time for the first day is a couple of hours while the remaining days are about an hour.

Tandem and ovoid is less frequently performed as an HDR treatment, but consists of the tandem and the ovoid. The tandem is a small metal tube that is placed inside the patient's uterus and an ovoid is a similar metal tube with a circular shape for treatment of the cervix. During treatment the radioactive source will pass through both the tandem and the ovoid at different times to ensure that the entire region is properly treated.

Treatment is administered to the tissue surrounding a tumor after a lumpectomy has occurred. At the time of surgery an inflatable balloon is inserted with a catheter. The balloon fills the region that the tumor occupied. A treatment schedule often consists of 2 treatments a day over a span of 5 days. During this time high doses of radiation are given to a very specific region while not threatening healthy tissue.