About a year ago i was diagnosed with PC and the treatment options of HIFU, Brachytherapy, Radiotherapy or the different types of surgery to remove the prostate where mentioned.
The nurse then went into detail regarding surgery and radiotherapy and did not mention any of the options again.
When i researched the different treatments so many people had post treatment problems when they had radiology or surgery that they were options that i wanted to avoid if at all possible.
I opted for HIFU treatment.
When i was diagnosed with PC i had none of the usual symptoms except for passing blood in the urine which did not affect my life style at all.
The HIFU treatment is a day patient treatment under general anaesthetic.
There were no real post treatment symptoms such as discomfort, pain, erectile functions or bladder control.
There was the inconvenience of having to wear a catheter for about 2 weeks, this is normal practice although i had no problem urinating normally from the time i was told to try it which is 2 days after surgery. Although possible side affects were needing to urinate probably more often than usual and also more urgency.
My health and quality of life was good prior to the treatment and it is no different now.
I enjoy the occasional leisure run, 4 days after the catheter was removed i went for a half hour 4 mile run which was no problem whatsoever.
The disadvantages as far as i can ascertain is that you may have to wait longer for treatment.
Your local health authority may not perform HIFU treatment although they would transfer you to a health authority which does..
There are no 10 year studies from this country regarding long term outcomes although there are from Japan. Even though these results are better than the other methods of treatment (probably because people with advanced PC are not treated) the results are now out of date due to the advances made in technology over the last 2 to 3 years.
Some people just like to have the prostate removed in order to be sure that the cancer has been removed irrespective of the long term health problems.
It is not available for advanced cancer. You would not be offered the treatment if you were not suitable.
When i read about other peoples stories who have had different treatments i do feel so fortunate that i have had no apparent problems although i only received the treatment 4 months ago.
Long term - well like all treatments it is probably in the lap of the gods but the indications are good for everyone who has received HIFU.
I'm 56 and was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer 19th December 2011. My PSA was 18, Gleason score 3+4 (7) and stage T2. Fortunately, all was within my gland and mainly on the RHS spreading slightly to the left.
I went through all the tests and decision making process with the conclusion that surgery was the best way forward.
However, I did a lot of research and found the two major side effects to be quite common; incontinence and erectile disfunction. This disturbed me a lot and got me researching further for other treatments.
I came across HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound), did loads of research and decided it was for me. I cancelled surgery, which would have been 5th March 2012, and made an appointment to see a Professor Mark Emberton in London. news.sky.com/home/news-uk/article/16209988
Since then I had further scans and my treatment was 7thAugust. HIFU can be repeated and if in the future surgery becomes the only option, it can be done. The side effects are much reduced and I would never forgive myself if I didn't give it a go !
I'm not saying this is a suitable treatment for your everyone, however, what it does clearly show is there are more options out there than we are initially presented with.
I feel extremely comfortable with the decision I made and believe HIFU could be the treatment of the future.
HIFU treatment on 7th August 2012 at UCLH by Professor Mark Emberton. Had a review meeting with him on Wednesday and the treatment was successful. Having checks and reviews every 3 months to keep tabs on me. However, confidence is high that I'm going to be OK now !!
PSA test 28th December 2012, down from 23 (at time of treatment) to 3.8. Lower than it was 10 years ago !
I had whole gland Hifu at UCLH in Oct 2012. (see my profile) Ihave just had my 6 month psa 0.2. I have no side effects. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.
I've only just joined here Quarts, ( I presume that's not ur real name? ) I don't know how to view ur profile!!! doh!!!
Thanks for the reply, could u tell me more about how large ur cancer was, and ur psa levels?
I have been told I have 3 'dots' in a 4 mil area, and my highest level was 5.2, it went back to 4'3 which was the same as when I was diagnosed! I had a test last week and it was 4.4!
I know I have been caught very early and my consultant doesn't seem too concerned for me yet, but, trying to get my head around it is probably my biggest problem!
Just click on " Quarts" and you will see my profile with all my numbers. I studied all my options in great detail before deciding to go with the Hifu. I am very pleased the treatment I received and the results.
If I can help you with any info. feel free to contact me thru the "friends" link.
My husband had HIFU April 2016. PSA went up and up with each test. Had another MRI and the cancer is in the exact spot as before HIFU. It failed completely. Now he faces salvage surgery which will leave him worse than if he would have just had the prostrate removed from the beginning. Plus we could have bought a car with the money. Total failure. Very discouraged.
Am currently considering focal HIFU for a small 4+3/7 tumor in the peripheral zone of apex. I'm a T1C. It's not detectable by DRE, but was picked up in 4/36 cores (60%) during an MRI fusion part targeted, part random biopsy. Rest of the prostate was clean according to biopsy and MRI. My uro has me convinced this is the way to go. Says it's far enough away from urethra to not cause problems with post procedure stricture urinary issues. Can still ablate a generous 16 mm margin with zero or minor damage to one nerve bundle. I have a 110cc prostate from BPH with bothersome urinary obstruction that I'm managing decently with Rapaflo and Cialis 5mg combined. But, I imagine I will eventually need a separate procedure to address it. Though urologist says it's possible ablation may relieve some of those symptoms. Am also considering RP, which may have complications because of the size of my prostate. Uro says he can probably do complete nerve sparing during RP, but I'm more concerned about damage to my urethra given the prostate size and where it needs to be cut. (I live in Los Angeles, so any recommendations of HIFU specialists here would also be appreciated.)
Would love any thoughts or shared experiences on the matter.
Welcome to the online community. Sorry, I can't help you with HIFU as I've never had it, but you might want to edit your post and remove your email address as it goes against the community guidelines. It's to protect users as much as anything else as anyone can see posts and you might end up being spammed.
Hopefully you'll get some replies on here from men who've had HIFU and, as others see them, you're likely to get more, too.
You can find out more by clicking here and visiting the help section.
