HIFU cure

notme · Guest

I started to urinate on my own just a couple days ago, no problem, plus, I don't dribble afterwards anymore like I did.!

I can tell I'll be fine in the sex catagory too, just not anxious until this catheter comes out, looks like Monday.

I also wanted to mention that Dr. Scionti or his nurse phoned me everyday while I was in Mexico, plus once I left he asked me to email him every three days ~ or phone him any time of the day on his private cell number if I need to. All I've needed to say is "thank you"!!!

It's a bloody sin that every man can't get this at his local clinic, it's a none event.

Jean, why do you think HIFU isn't covered by insurance in Canada??

BTW ~ Puerto Vallarta is great!!! Wish I'd stayed longer!!!

notme · Guest

Didn't get the catheter out until wednesday, doctor wsn't in a hurry, in fact he was pissed I'd gotten cured without paying him, he's probably afraid I will tell other possible "victims" he is eyeing.

Sex is great! It's a bit wierd not ejaculating, but the climax is the same.

I hope that I contribute to someone else getting cured the easy way.

notme · Guest

Here's a good web site that explains HIFU procedure and machines they use:
http://www.prostate-cancer.org/education/novelthr/Chinn_TransrectalHIFU.html

By the way, it's been 5 months and my PSA is 0.3

Replicant · Moderator Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 741

notme,
That's good news on your PSA! Best wishes for continued good reports.
_________________
Replicant

Dx Feb 2006, PSA 9 @age 43
RRP Apr 2006 - Gleason 3+4, T2c, NXMX, pos margins
PSA 5/06 <0.1, 8/06 0.2, 12/06 0.6, 1/07 0.7.
Salvage radiation (IMRT) total dose 70.2 Gy, Jan-Mar 2007@ age 44
PSA 6/07 0.1, 9/07 (and thereafter) <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com

notme · Guest

Thanks Replicant!

The clinical trials in the USA have strict rules to enter the trials, but going to a doctor outside the US has lower restrictions:

Who is Eligible for HIFU Treatment? (outside the USA)

1. Clinical stage T1-2N0M0

2. PSA less than 20 ng/ml

3. Any Gleason score

4. Prostate volumes of less than 40cc (patients with larger glands could consider neoadjuvant (pre HIFU) hormone therapy or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) prior to HIFU therapy to reduce the volume of the prostate.

5. Prostate glands without large calcifications of more than 1.0cm in diameter (TURP can be performed to remove these calcifications before HIFU).

(((( Jean222, hang in there, every day there's someone and something new....hope you find what's best for your guy and you. )))

notme · Guest

I found this on WebMD:

"Hello, I am a new poster here. I underwent the HIFU procedure the middle of last month and couldn't be happier. You might want to consider this as well. I'm 64, my Gleason was a combined 7 with a PSA of 4.7 and found cancer in all areas of the gland (we'd be watching the PSA rise for some years and did the ultrasound/biopsy after the latest PSA). You might want to do a search for International HIFU since this procedure must be done out of the U.S.. If you have questions I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Charles_D"

notme · Guest

I've decided not to post on other threads, I'll just keep my experience alive as this thread, I'd feel guilty not spreading the word.

I found this article and thought I'd post it so others could consider HIFU as an option:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A pioneering treatment for the UK's most common male cancer is more successful than surgery or radiotherapy, according to a landmark study by British scientists.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 02 Jul 2009

Prostate cancer is the country's most prevalent cancer among men, with 10,000 deaths among 35,000 cases each year, affecting a third of men over 50.

Traditional therapies are invasive and require overnight stays in hospital, with multiple visits for further treatment.

They also have significant and long-lasting side-affects that put many men off.

However, new research shows that intensive ultrasound therapy matches the 92 per cent cure rate of traditional treatments - but dramatically reduces side effects.

The technique is also much simpler, involving a one off visit, with sufferers walking out of the hospital hours later.

Furthermore, those who undergo ultrasound can return to normal life in just a week or two compared with up to six months for the other treatments.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the NHS rationing body, which has previously considered the results of similar tests "uncertain", has pledged to consider the new evidence as it assesses the technique for use in the health service.

It currently remains in clinical trials, but the results were described as "excellent news" by cancer charities.

"This technique needs careful evaluation to make sure that it can produce the same results as the proven treatments for early prostate cancer," said Professor Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK.

"If the treatment can be shown to have less side effects then that will be excellent news, but more research is needed to show this."

Ministers have been considering whether to introduce a nationwide screening programme for prostate cancer, after the largest study of its kind suggested that it could save lives.

However, experts have warned that the risks associated with traditional surgery to remove some slow growing tumours, which can include incontinence, outweigh the risks posed by the disease for many men.

If caught early enough then treatments such as radiotherapy and surgery can stop the spread of the cancer but the side-effects severely damage the quality of life of the patient.

Of men treated with surgery or radiotherapy, up to 20 per cent usually suffer incontinence and half have impotence.

Radiotherapy can also cause other side effects in up to one in five patients, including pain and bleeding.

The new technique, known as High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Hifu), focuses powerful soundwaves on an area about a tenth of an inch across. It effectively boils cancerous cells to death, killing tumours, and is far less invasive.

In the trial of 172 men, carried out by the University College Hospital and the private Princess Grace Hospital, both in London, less than one per cent had incontinence, none had any bowel problems and around 35 per cent had impotence.

All the men in the study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, were day cases, with almost all discharged from hospital in an average of five hours.

Dr Hashim Ahmed, who ran the trial, said as the preliminary results suggest the lack of side effects and short hospital stay made it "clearly advantageous to men with prostate cancer".

He hoped that Nice, the rationing body, would seriously consider allowing it to be rolled out across the NHS.

Professor Karol Sikora, an expert in cancer treatment, said: “It is very encouraging that new approaches to prostate cancer are being sought. I think anything that can reduce side effects is a good thing.”

John Neate, chief executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said it was "promising" and could be a "third way" in the treatment of the disease although more research was needed.

"As HIFU is a new technology, that data does not yet exist and longer term trials are necessary, but these are promising results," he said.

A spokesman for NICE said: "We will consider every piece of new evidence to see if it has impact on the guidance."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/men_shealth/5713460/Prostate-cancer-treatment-more-successful-than-surgery-claim-British-scientists.html

Here is the medical link for the above story: http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v101/n1/full/6605116a.html

notme · Guest

I sent a buddy in for HIFU, he's back from Mexico and happy as can be. He hadn't heard of HIFU for prostate cancer either, so I wanted to bump this up, so others may benefit.

My HIFU doctor has been hired as Clinical Associate Professor of Urology, NYU School of Medicine & Director of Prostate Cancer Ablative Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center & he is still the Regional Training Director, International HIFU ~~ so this HIFU thing is taking off....as it should be.

notme · Guest

The Swiss have had such amazing success with HIFU for prostate cancer that they have now treated brain tumors with HIFU!!
read the story in the Swiss news....not in our news..:

Non-invasive brain surgery proves successful
Not many patients can imagine having a glass of champagne with their surgeons straight after brain surgery but that is exactly what is happening at a Zurich hospital.

Swiss doctors have successfully carried out the world's first non-invasive brain surgery with use of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Ten adult patients, who were awake during the revolutionary painless procedure, have been treated at University Children's Hospital Zurich since September 2008 as part of a clinical study. The results were published this week.

All interventions were completed successfully and without complications under the direction of professors Daniel Jeanmonod and Ernst Martin.

"This fully non-invasive procedure opens new horizons for neurosurgery and the treatment of different neurological brain disorders," Ernst Martin, director of the hospital's Magnetic Resonance Centre told swissinfo.ch.

The list of diseases and conditions which could be treated with this safe and effective technique includes Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, brain tumour and stroke............

HIFU has been used for some years in the treatment of uterine fibroids and tumours of the prostate gland. The ultrasound beams heat up the problem area, creating a lesion and rendering it inactive.

This is the first time that the technique has been applied to the brain through the intact skull for non-invasive neurosurgery.

Breakthrough
"A major breakthrough was the MR guidance – that is image guidance of the operative process by magnetic resonance imaging and also magnetic resonance thermometry, where we get thermo maps and can see exactly the temperature development at the spot where we operate," Martin explained.

It is common knowledge that ultrasound does not go through the skull because bone absorbs the waves. But Martin, Jeanmonod and their team managed to overcome this obstacle by creating a helmet-like hemisphere with 1,024 transducers, which can each be individually set, beaming separately into the skull.

The benefits are enormous. "We avoid the risk of bleeding, we do not harm anything on the brain, there is no intervention on the brain other than the focal spot and we have no risk of infection."

Each beaming session lasts ten to 20 seconds with breaks of several minutes in between, building up the temperature step by step.

Towards the end some patients experienced vertigo, light headedness or stinging sensations but only during the beaming sessions. The whole procedure lasts several hours and the patient is awake and fully conscious throughout.

New horizons
The Zurich breakthrough opens up a wide field of potential applications for HIFU brain surgery.

Various groups, mainly in North America, are close to beginning other HIFU surgery clinical trials on humans for a range of diseases and conditions, including brain tumours, stroke and neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers.

Meanwhile the Zurich team will carry on with clinical trials on pain disorders, but also move on in the coming months to movement disorders, including tremor and Parkinson's as well as epilepsy.

Clare O'Dea, swissinfo.ch
..........................................................................................................

notme · Guest

Here's the link to the Swiss story above:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/science_technology/Non_invasive_brain_surgery_proves_successful.html?siteSect=511&sid=10873250&cKey=1246694898000&ty=st

John M · Experienced user Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 59

BJU Int. 2008 May;101(10):1205-13. Epub 2008 Mar 4. Links
High-intensity focused ultrasound in prostate cancer; a systematic literature review of the French Association of Urology.Rebillard X, Soulié M, Chartier-Kastler E, Davin JL, Mignard JP, Moreau JL, Coulange C; Association Francaise d'Urologie.
Collaborators (18)

Allègre JP, Averous M, Botto H, Coloby P, Conort P, Delmas V, Desgrandchamps F, Fourcade RO, Grall J, Grise P, Kouri G, Le Doze H, Piéchaud T, Prunet D, Roupret M, Rambeaud JJ, Vignes B, Villers A.
Clinique Beau Soleil, Montpellier, France.

We discuss the efficacy and safety of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in patients with prostate cancer, to define the best indications for HIFU in daily clinical practice as primary therapy. We searched Medline and Embase for clinical studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of HIFU in prostate cancer (July 2007), and abstracts presented at the 2005-2007 annual meetings of the European Association of Urology and American Urological Association were screened. In all, 37 articles/abstracts were selected. As the data on HIFU as salvage therapy were limited, we focused on HIFU as primary therapy. Studies consisted of case series only. Included patients were approximately 70 years old with T1-T2 N0M0 disease, Gleason Score <or=7, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of <or=28 ng/mL and a prostate volume of <or=40 mL. Negative biopsy rates with the Ablatherm device (EDAP TMS S.A., Vaulx-en-Velin, France) were 64-93%, and a PSA nadir of <or=0.5 ng/mL was achieved in 55-84% of patients. The 5-year actuarial disease-free survival rates were 60-70%. The most common complications were stress urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, urethral/bladder neck stenosis or strictures, and erectile dysfunction. For the Ablatherm device, the rate of complications has been significantly reduced over the years, due to technical improvements in the device and the use of transurethral resection of the prostate before HIFU.

In conclusion, HIFU as primary therapy for prostate cancer is indicated in older patients (>or=70 years) with T1-T2 N0M0 disease, a Gleason score of <7, a PSA level of <15 ng/mL and a prostate volume of <40 mL. In these patients HIFU achieves short-term cancer control, as shown by a high percentage of negative biopsies and significantly reduced PSA levels. The median-term survival data also seem promising, but long-term follow-up studies are needed to further evaluate cancer-specific and overall survival rates before the indications for primary therapy can be expanded.
_________________
John

notme · Guest

I could match you post for post with good HIFU accounts. But, if MY very own account doesn't count....I know you guys won't read articles that I post.

Here's an edited PubMed article comparing surgery, radiation:

BACKGROUND: The comparative effectiveness of localized prostate cancer treatments is largely unknown. PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness and harms of treatments for localized prostate cancer. ........................

Radical prostatectomy reduced disease recurrence at 5 years compared with external-beam radiation therapy in 1 small, older trial (14% vs. 39%........

No external-beam radiation regimen was superior to another in reducing mortality.

The Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study reported that urinary leakage ... was more common with radical prostatectomy (35%) than with radiation therapy (12%) or androgen deprivation (11%). Bowel urgency occurred more often with radiation (3%) or androgen deprivation (3%) than with radical prostatectomy (1%). Erectile dysfunction occurred frequently after all treatments (radical prostatectomy, 58%; radiation therapy, 43%; androgen deprivation, 86%).

A higher risk score incorporating histologic grade, PSA level, and tumor stage was associated with increased risk for disease progression or recurrence regardless of treatment.

CONCLUSION: Assessment of the comparative effectiveness and harms of localized prostate cancer treatments is difficult because of limitations in the evidence.

PMID: 18252677 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Last night on PBS I heard another doctor say that radiation causes another cancer later on in the location of treatment, no one under 65 should get radiation.

HIFU works. My local urologist told me that surgery has a 50%+ rate of incontinence, his nurse told me she thinks it's higher. Surgery is cutting, whereas HIFU is ultrasound, no cutting.....

John M · Experienced user Joined: 27 Jul 2009 Posts: 59

The reply to Notme, AKA, Lauiejo, is on another post

http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=13664&start=30
_________________
John

notme · Guest

Yes, yes, yes, I am the only person on planet earth to be HIFUed!!!!!

I am lauriejo!!!

Funny though, she has the same passion that I did when I first found HIFU, all of us do.....and wait until her husband gets treated..... Smile

John M......Silly boy.....HIFU is the future, you know it....Dr. Scionti is treating 50 men a month now....

Face it--All your studies are by inexperienced doctors.

If you get HIFUed by an experienced doctor who uses the Sonablate (or an experienced doctor with the Ablatherm, but your gland is small), then HIFU is the answer.

Thank goodness, maybe I'll have a comrad, unless you guys run her off.

Yes, I haven't gone years to prove it works, but I know 7 guys who were HIFUed some 8 years ago and all report no problem today.

Baffles me why you aren't happy about finding something that shows such great success and no pain for all the men to come.. Sad

notme · Guest

Hey!

Try to be gentlemen towards lauriejo, she's a young girl, her husband has cancer.

I only talked to her in the beginning when she came and posted the HIFU thread, and then again right now, she did her homework all by herself.

You can be gentlemen ~ can't you?

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