UHG marks major milestone in treatment of prostate cancer

The Radiation Oncology team in UHG has marked a major milestone in the treatment of prostate cancer.

They successfully treated the 1,000th patient with prostate seed implantation, a minimally invasive, day-case treatment for prostate cancer.

UHG was the first public hospital in Ireland to offer this service in 2007, and over 1,000 men have benefitted from this treatment since.

The minimally invasive, day-case procedure involves placing radioactive metallic seeds inside the prostate gland, releasing radiation slowly over several months to destroy cancer cells.

The procedure is an alternative to traditional radiotherapy as it allows patients to come to the hospital in the morning, have the procedure, and be discharged home that same evening.

The treatment is carried out in the new state-of-the-art Radiation Oncology Unit at UHG, which opened last year and is a major component of Saolta’s Cancer Programme.