HIFU, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Jadbalja

Has anyone here had HIFU rather than the Davinci Robot or radiation? My urologist strongly suggests the Davinci. He strongly advises against radiation because of my general overall good health. Most think I am ten years younger. Most who are twenty years younger and larger than me falter when lifting what I lift with ease repetitively. Diagnosed in July, 2013. Gleason 4+4, PSA 7.66 from 12 years of being inthe range of 1.4 to 1.7 PSA. 12 biopsies, one had 15% cancer. He says with the high grade prostate cancer that the sucess rate is about 50% when HIFU is the procedure. He kindly researched studies of patients that have had HIFU. It is more effective with low grade, which you most likely don't need to do anything about anyway. Me, great stats, 63 years of age. Weightlifter, body builder and was about to open a one on one personal training studio in the next year. Never used a steroid or anything that didn't come from food. Natural body builder. My Doc has sore shoulders. I brought in "chest expanders" to show him some exercises for therapy and discussed nutrition and when to take it to maximize results in repairing his shoulders. At the end I replaced the three cables I had removed. The expander now had all five heavy spring cables on it. I extended it for reps as I do when working out with the expander. My Doc looked at me and said that the way my core tightened up, he doubted that I could ever extend the cables without "leaking". That is an exercise that I do for reps and sets! What happens when I get into the even tougher stuff like deadlifting 350 lbs. for sets and reps? I need my strengh to put the building together for the studio and the heavy workouts are therapeutic for me mentally. I have ankle damage. I can handle a lot of weight on them and it stregthens my ankles but they can't take the pounding from walking and running like they did when I boxed and did road work. So, I have $30,000 worth of equipment, a studio to put together and my slate has just been wiped clean! Divorced twice, no children or grandchildren, in between female friends and that certainly isn't going to happen now unless I take a chance with a floozie for one last fling! It seems I have enough problems without taking a chance of catching something!

I am seriously considering the 50% chance with HIFU especially if it allows me to continue with my life. I understand the Robot can be done if HIFU fails. I might not be as "lucky", funny word, if cancer reoccurs. It might not be in the tidy little tumor in the prostate capsule that is there now. 

Maple Leaf HIFU in Toronto, Canada has the latest and greatest iteration of the HIFU machines being manufactured. This may move the odds a little above 50% for me. I hope to be make able to make a decision by the end of the week. One option is to do nothing and try to enjoy the year or two I will have left rather than becoming an adult baby and who has to find a new way to make a living. I have three cats. They are provided for in my will. Now, you can understand why I consider doing nothing an option.

HIFU anyone? Has anyone had it? Good results to report I hope? I wish everyone the best. 

hopeful and optimistic

I suggest that you receive a

I suggest that you receive a second opinion on the pathology of your biopsy by a world class pathologist so that you are not under or over treated.

As you know, a gleason of 4+4=8 is aggressive. Even a low volume at your age,  can grow considerably in the next few years and can metasisize.

I am not sure, but I believe that HIFU is a localized treatment, so if your cancer is already outside the prostate, you will still need another treatment option such as hormone treatment. I strongly advise you to have other diagnostic tests. An MRI using a strong magnet, a Tesla 3.0 many times can indicate if there is extracapsular extension. If so you might not wish to have a localized treatment.

Additionally, the American Urological Association recommends a bone scan for those with a Gleason 4+4=8.

By the way what is Maple Leafs current charge for HIFU. It was about 25K about 4 years ago.

hopeful and optimistic

hopeful and optimistic said:

I suggest that you receive a

I suggest that you receive a second opinion on the pathology of your biopsy by a world class pathologist so that you are not under or over treated.

As you know, a gleason of 4+4=8 is aggressive. Even a low volume at your age,  can grow considerably in the next few years and can metasisize.

I am not sure, but I believe that HIFU is a localized treatment, so if your cancer is already outside the prostate, you will still need another treatment option such as hormone treatment. I strongly advise you to have other diagnostic tests. An MRI using a strong magnet, a Tesla 3.0 many times can indicate if there is extracapsular extension. If so you might not wish to have a localized treatment.

Additionally, the American Urological Association recommends a bone scan for those with a Gleason 4+4=8.

By the way what is Maple Leafs current charge for HIFU. It was about 25K about 4 years ago.

you may wish to explore the

you may wish to explore the possibliity of having SBRT   There is a 95 percent success from treament with low side effects when the cancer is localized. 

 you may wish to explore clinical trials for HIFU treatment. Sorry I do not know very much about HIFU. I have not explored this treatment method since follow through would be difficult for me if I receive treatment in a foreign land. HIFU for the most part is not medically approved for payment. I would want more than a 50 cure rate for a procedure that I would undertake.

"Hoping for hemi ablation rather than total. Only the section of the prostate where the tumor is will be affected with hemi ablation."

I've read that there is a good chance of specs of cancer left in the prostate when a cryo partial treatment is done to the prostate. I think theat the same would apply to HIFU, if this is possible.

 

PS. Thank you for the CSN email, and the tips about food intake.