Radioactive "seed" treatment no threat to others

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Radioactive "seed" treatment no threat to others
  
CHICAGO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Radioactive "seeds" used to treat 
prostate cancer in men pose no radiation risk to their wives or 
families, who would absorb more radiation simply living in the high-
altitude city of Denver, researchers said on Monday. 

"We can now tell a woman, 'The amount of radiation you will get from 
your husband in one year is less than you would get from living in 
Denver for three or four months,'" said Jeff Michalski, a radiation 
oncologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. 

Researchers affixed badges that measure radiation exposure on the 
skin of the wives, children and even pet dogs of 40 men who underwent 
prostate cancer treatment with the seeds -- radioactive material 
encased in a metal tube smaller than a rice grain. 

At most, spouses received radiation of 14 millirem, compared to the 
50 to 85 millirem absorbed by a Denver native or the 20 millirem 
received on a round-trip flight between New York and Tokyo, according 
to the study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological 
Society of North America. 

People living at high altitudes or traveling in planes absorb more 
radiation because there is less of the protective atmosphere to 
shield them from solar radiation. 

The average person is exposed to between 200 and 400 millirem a year, 
and experts say annual exposure from nonmedical or occupational 
sources should be limited to not more than 500 millirem. 

In the treatment, called brachytherapy, about 100 of the radioactive 
seeds are implanted to bombard the cancerous cells. 

One in four men whose diagnosis shows his prostate cancer has not 
spread opts for this style of treatment, which studies have shown has 
a 78 percent success rate after 10 years. 

This year, about 180,000 American men will be diagnosed with prostate 
cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men after 
lung cancer. But in 80 percent of cases the disease is diagnosed 
before it has spread beyond the prostate. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.			E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html