HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound)

mrshisname said:

HIFU etc
Hi Ralphie's wife. We just received my husband's diagnosis on Friday February 20, 2010. You are just a few weeks ahead of us. I went to Dr. Scionti's site and called, but had to leave a message but it wasn't with Dawn.
I've been reading good and bad about HIFU on the internet, this is so darned confusing. The one thing about your post that did bother me (sorry) is the fact that the physicians who are doing the actual procedures are in TRAINING. Is Dr. Scionti actually there directly supervising??
We are also considering DaVinci but have a friend whose husband had it and he is impotent. Our urologist does DaVinci and is quite experienced. He also is doing HIFU in Mexico but $25,000 - $30,000 is quite a lot of money. Just don't know what to think...I never realized what a puzzling decision this would be. I am a registered nurse and this is driving me crazy, already! Let me know your thoughts and where you are in the process..best wishes.

hifu
So, we really can't afford to go to Mexico...at least not soon. I did not contact Dr Scionti's office, but we have been exploring the US trials on HIFU treatment. The doctors heading up the project are real physicians; my understanding is that Dr. Scionti is overseeing this arm of the trails and has trained these physicians on treatment....the trials are already underway...people have already been treated.....so i am trying to get in touch with other participants. If we are accepted, we have the option of interviewing the physician, and Dawn said we could talk directly with Dr. sconti.....we are not in yet...won't find out until March. The ablatherm trials are accepting people now, but we don't meet the criteria because of prostate size. Our thought is that the people conducting theese trials has a huge stake in their success and statistics, so, we think it would probably be a positive experience. we are also looking into proton therapy....very minimal side effects, good long term cure, and most insurance covers it.....it is a lengthy treatment, though. We considered Davinci, and have looked into doctors, but it's surgery,the recovery is long...a year of incontinence or impotence is making us take a long hard look at everything. I am a nurse as well, not oncology, though.............Ralphie's wife:)

Ralphie62 said:

hifu
So, we really can't afford to go to Mexico...at least not soon. I did not contact Dr Scionti's office, but we have been exploring the US trials on HIFU treatment. The doctors heading up the project are real physicians; my understanding is that Dr. Scionti is overseeing this arm of the trails and has trained these physicians on treatment....the trials are already underway...people have already been treated.....so i am trying to get in touch with other participants. If we are accepted, we have the option of interviewing the physician, and Dawn said we could talk directly with Dr. sconti.....we are not in yet...won't find out until March. The ablatherm trials are accepting people now, but we don't meet the criteria because of prostate size. Our thought is that the people conducting theese trials has a huge stake in their success and statistics, so, we think it would probably be a positive experience. we are also looking into proton therapy....very minimal side effects, good long term cure, and most insurance covers it.....it is a lengthy treatment, though. We considered Davinci, and have looked into doctors, but it's surgery,the recovery is long...a year of incontinence or impotence is making us take a long hard look at everything. I am a nurse as well, not oncology, though.............Ralphie's wife:)

what steered me away from HIFU..
One of my urolgist friends who is based in the US but does HIFU overseas kept reminding me that at if PCa came back after HIFU there was always option for surgery as the gland is still in a position to be taken out. Upon probing did not get a satisfactory answer. At 48 years of age that was not the option for me. Pay now or pay (maybe) later. Also, my sister was a physician in UK for many years before moving here and she called many of her urolgist colleagues who recommended surgery for my age and health. Again the logic was possibility of recurrence 10.20.30 years from now

my 2 cents

wschupp said:

Need you advice on how to get BCBS to pay
I had my procedure in Dec 2009. I have both Blue Cross Blue Shield and TriCare. Going in I was told that both of these insurance plans have covered HIFU. To date I have not been successful in receiving reimbursement from either. Don't get me wrong I am extremely please with the results of the procedure,but getting a little of the out of pocket expense reimbursed would be awesome. Any advice would be most appreciated

Not an approved procedure
wschupp,

As HIFU is not an approved procedure in the US, you are likely to have some real problems getting BCBS to pick up the tab unless it was pre-approved. Since the FDA has not approved it, neither Medicare or Tricare will approve it either after the fact. I have heard that Tricare may approve HIFU if it is submitted for pre-approval. If HIFU was done as part of a clinical trial, there are some states that require insurance companies to pay.

If you qualify for Tricare, then you may know that recent court rulings require the VA to assume that PCa in veterans who served on the ground in Vietnam or aboard certain ships that called on Vietnamese ports was caused by Agent Orange and may be eligible for increased disability benefits but I believe that their treatment must be pre-approved. If you're a Vietnam Vet you may want to check that out.

I think all you're going to be able to do is claim it on your taxes and get back a portion based on your income and tax rate.