New treatment for prostate cancer at St. James Healthcare in Butte

A new procedure to combat prostate cancer is being performed at St. James Healthcare in Butte.

Compared to other treatment options, including prostate removal, external radiation and cryotherapy, its impact on patient’s quality of life is minimal. Little pain is associated with the procedure, patients can go home directly afterward and they are usually are back to 100 percent within a few days.

The procedure involves inserting 80 to 100 radiation “seeds” into the prostate. It’s a relatively simple, 45-minute outpatient procedure that uses a plastic, credit-card sized grid to place the seeds exactly where Stevenson wants them.

The seeds, which vary in radiation power in relation to the cancer’s stage, are stranded together by a substance similar to shrink-wrap so they stay in place.

Eventually, the seeds dissolve and the success rate using brachytherapy on early stage prostate cancer is 90 to 95 percent.