Fifteen years follow up after studying 223 patients with localized prostate cancer showed that radioactive seed implants are a highly effective treatment in combination with conventional external beam radiation.Seed implants, also called brachytherapy, are small radioactive pellets about the size of a grain of rice. The pellets are implanted into the prostate; they deliver radiation to the prostate cancer from the inside.

Most good-prognosis patients who choose seed implants do not receive other treatments. Patients with more aggressive tumors may get seed implants plus external beam radiation.

Three out of four patients in the study remained disease free at least 15 years after treatment ended. It is not clear from the study if the patients would have fared equally well with either the seed implants or external-bean radiation therapy alone, however they are confident the combined therapy is very effective in treating prostate cancer.

Esophagitis is a condition that happens when the esophagus is inflamed and can cause pain and discomfort when swallowing. This is a common side effect when treated with radiation to the chest and neck area and can also be caused by chemotherapy treatments.

Some ways to help deal with the symptoms of esophagitis:

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