WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

SOME men may feel slight pain from the injection when the protective gel is inserted, or if the needle accidentally penetrates the bladder, prostate or rectum, which usually heals by itself.

Commenting on the gel implant, Dr Vincent Khoo, a consultant in clinical oncology at The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, says: ‘It can reduce radiation dose to the rectum by up to 73.5 per cent and could benefit all men receiving external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer.’