The biggest disadvantage is that the cancer is left in place and one must hope that the amount of radiation delivered is enough to cure the cancer. During the last two to three weeks of treatment, diarrhea and urinary urgency and frequency are quite common and on occasion so severe that the treatments need to be temporarily halted. These symptoms usually resolve two to three weeks after the radiation treatments have ceased. Implant Therapy Implants are forms of radiation therapy with many of the same risks and benefits. Implants are often combined with external therapy, depending on the type of implanted radiation and the extent of the cancer.
Implants are ultrasound guided radiation treatments done under anesthesia.
Implants allow for higher doses to the prostate while sparing the surrounding tissues. A theoretically higher cure rate should be observed. Implants have been around since 1970 and were done initially with free-hand techniques. The results with free-hand implantation were not very encouraging. Ultrasound guided implants became available in the mid-1980s and long term data is still not available to determine how effective these treatments might be.