Patient Instruction — Prostate Seed Implants

Diet

You may resume your regular diet. Some foods and liquids (acidic foods or amino acid foods) can be slightly irritating to the bladder, causing increased urinary frequency, discomfort and a slow stream. Generally it is not necessary to eliminate these foods from your diet but you may wish to decrease the amount, particularly if you are experiencing symptoms. (Please refer to the list of acidic foods and amino acid foods.)

Activity

Avoid heavy lifting or strenuous physical activity for the first two days, once you are home. After that, you may return to your normal activity level.

Possible Side Effects

Minor burning upon urination, urinating more frequently, mild discomfort or feeling you are unable to pass urine freely are common side effects and usually subside in one to four months. You are likely to see blood in your urine after the implant for the first twenty-four hours. After twenty-four hours, if visible blood persists or if you begin to pass clots, you should contact your urologist. Antibiotics are given after the implant to prevent infection. You should take the antibiotic as prescribed by your physician until the medication runs out. If you develop an allergic reaction, such as a skin rash, stop the medication and contact your physician.

Radiation Safety

Radiation safety is a concern of many of our patients. 1-125 and Pd-103 are low energy radioactive materials and lose their activity quickly. The low energy of the seeds means that their radiation is contained within the prostate gland, for the most part. However, some amount of the radiation is given off to structures very dose to the prostate, such as the rectum. The precautions listed below, that we ask you to observe, are to ensure that those around you are protected from unnecessary radiation. Objects that you touch or items that you use are NOT radioactive. Your bodily wastes (urine and stools) are NOT radioactive.

Precautions

Any pregnant, or possibly pregnant, woman should avoid prolonged close contact with you for the first two months after the implant. She should not hug you or sit very close to you. She can greet you briefly and then move to a distance of six feet or more away. At a six-foot distance, there is no limit to the length of time she can be in the same room. Children should not be allowed to sit on your lap during the first two months following the implant. Sexual intercourse with a condom may be resumed two weeks after the implant. Your sperm may be discolored dark brown to black. This is normal and is a result of bleeding that may have occurred during the implant and is now being released into the ejaculate. After two months it will not be necessary to use a condom. After removal of the urinary catheter, and for up to one week after the implant, it is possible that you could lose seeds through urination or in the ejaculate
following sexual intercourse. There is a possibility that you could pass a seed when you urinate, if so, DO NOT TOUCH It Leave it in the toilet and flush twice.

Follow-Up

Follow-ups with your urologist and radiation oncologist will be done on a regular basis. IT IS IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW-UP WITH BOTH PHYSICIANS as they specialize in their own field, yet work together to treat your cancer. Each type of doctor has a slightly different background and may be more familiar with problems and solutions in their own particular area of expertise. A follow-up schedule will be given to you at the time of your implant, but plan on a visit every three to six months for the first five years. Physical examinations, blood tests, ct scans, and rectal ultrasound tests may be done at certain intervals as part of your post implant follow-up care to ensure that there is no recurrence of cancer or possible radiation related side effects. A month after you implant you will be scheduled for a CT scan at the hospital and a visit with your Radiation Oncologist. The CT scan will enable the Radiation Oncologist and other physicians to determine the exact position of each seed in the prostate and calculate final dose levels received by the prostate gland.

 

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