What to Expect at Home

You may need to use a urinary catheter for 1 or 2 days if you have blood in your urine. Your doctor or nurse will show you how to use it. You may also feel the urge to urinate more often. Your perineum may be tender and bruised. Ice and pain medicine will help relieve your discomfort.

If you have a permanent implant, your doctor may tell you to limit the amount of time you spend around children and women who are pregnant for a while.

Activity

Take it easy when you return home. Mix light activity with periods of rest to help speed your recovery.

Avoid strenuous activity (such as housework, yard work, and lifting children) for at least 1 week. You should be able to return to your normal, light activities after that. You can resume sexual activity when you feel comfortable.

If you have a permanent implant, ask your doctor if you need to limit your activities. You will probably need to avoid sexual activity for about 2 weeks, and then use a condom for several weeks after that.

Self-care

Apply ice packs to the area for 20 minutes at a time to reduce pain and swelling. Do not put the ice directly on your skin. Wrap it in a cloth or towel.

Take your pain medicine as your doctor told you to.

You may resume a normal, healthy diet when you get home. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water or unsweetened juice a day. Avoid alcohol for the first week.

You may shower and gently wash the perineum with a washcloth. Pat dry the tender areas. Do not soak in a bath tub, hot tub, or go swimming for 1 week.

Follow-up

You may need to follow up with your doctor for more treatment or imaging tests.

When to Call the Doctor

Call your doctor or nurse if you have:

• Fever greater than 101°F and chills
• Severe pain in your rectum when you urinate or at other times
• Blood or blood clots in your urine
• Bleeding from your rectum
• Problems having a bowel movement or passing urine
• Shortness of breath
• Severe discomfort in the treatment area that is not relieved by pain medicine
• Drainage from the place the catheter was inserted
• Chest pain
• Abdominal (belly) discomfort
• Severe nausea or vomiting
• Any new or unusual symptoms

Alternate Names

Implant therapy - prostate cancer - discharge; Radioactive seed placement - discharge

References

D'Amico AV, Crook J, Beard CJ, DeWeese TL, Hurwitz M, Kaplan I. Radiation therapy for prostate cancer. In: Wein AJ, ed. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 100.

Nelson WG, Carter HB. DeWeese TL, Eisenberger MA. Prostate cancer. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKena WG, eds. Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 88.

Update Date: 1/21/2011

Updated by: Louis S. Liou, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urology, Department of Surgery, Boston University School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.