Dr. Geo Espinosa, ND, LAc, IFMCP, CNS, clinical assistant professor of integrative and functional urology at New York University and author of Thrive—Don’t Survive: Dr. Geo’s Guide to Living Your Best Life Before & After Prostate Cancer, discusses radioactive seed implants as a treatment for prostate cancer. Radioactive seed implants (also known as Brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy) are tiny pellets of radioactive material that are placed around the prostate to kill cancer cells. This treatment method has fallen out of favor, and fewer physicians are being trained in its administration. Why? Because while these seeds may effectively kill cancer cells, they also can cause urinary difficulties, such as urinary frequency and urgency, and infertility, reduced semen production and erectile dysfunction.
