Doctors Hospital of Manteca Offering New Therapy for Prostate Cancer Patients

Manteca, Calif. – Doctors Hospital of Manteca has expanded the services it provides to prostate cancer patients, allowing them to stay close to home for treatment.

Doctors Hospital of Manteca now offers ultrasound-guided, permanent seed interstitial (PSI) brachytherapy. This minimally invasive procedure is performed at the hospital and takes approximately 30 minutes.

Brachytherapy is one type of radiation therapy that’s used to treat cancer and is sometimes called internal radiation. The therapeutic seed delivery is customized to the individual patient, delivering the recommended doses of radiation directly into the prostate. The patient is typically discharged home on the same day.

"Brachytherapy is an exceptionally well-tolerated and extremely effective treatment for prostate cancer,” said Dr. Steven Kurtzman, Radiation Oncologist at Doctors Hospital of Manteca. “Patients are able to resume regular activities immediately after treatment.”

PSI brachytherapy is a widely accepted first‐line treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer. It allows physicians to deliver higher doses of radiation to more specific areas of the body, compared with the conventional form of radiation therapy that projects radiation from a machine outside the body. Brachytherapy may cause fewer side effects than external beam radiation, and can be used alone or in conjunction with other cancer treatments.

The radiation oncologist and urologist work collaboratively to provide treatment for each patient.