Treatment outcomes and quality-of-life issues for patients treated with prostate brachytherapy

The increasing popularity of brachytherapy for treatment of early-stage prostate cancer requires oncology nurses to have a comprehensive knowledge of the disease, its treatment, and management of side effects. Because quality-of-life (QOL) issues have become an important consideration in treatment selection for many patients, oncology nurses must have a thorough understanding of these QOL issues and their management. Armed with knowledge about prostate brachytherapy and its effect on QOL, oncology nurses can offer accurate information and evidence-based symptom management techniques to patients undergoing brachytherapy for prostate cancer.