[robinrae3]

Husband dx with prostate in November. The urologist course of treatment was surgery (Di Vinci method). Saw an oncologist for a second opinion. Quite a different story from the urologist Oncologist's course of treatment was seed implants (theraseed?). Husband is a firefighter and does a lot of strenuous work and 1, doesn't want the amount of down time from surgery 2, surgery will may severly impact his work, in that bladder control will be of issue and as he is in him mid 40's nerve damage is of great concern to him given his young age. The big question is who's opinion do we listen to, the oconlogist who deals specifically with cancer and says that the seeds would be quite effective and that there's time to decide or the urologist who is dealing with this from the urological point of view and says surgery is the way to go and that the operation should be done ASAP. Because of the varying opinions we are stuck, not knowing who to believe or which way is best. If the seeds didn't pose the risk of fusing of different parts, making it difficult to perform surgery later on if needed, the decision would'nt be so hard because there'd at least be the possibility of the DiVinci as a fall back plan. Your experience or advice may help to diminish some of the questions and fears.

[ohnoo]

Have you even looked into HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasoud)? Your doctor may answer questions about it, but may not, as it is not FDA approved in the USA yet, it is in clinical trials here. But it has been in use in Europe for 16 years with a 94% success rate (if cancer is outside the gland you MAY fall into the 6%). Not everyone qualifies for this treatment, you need to call 800-888-8888 and ask questions, the doctor there (Dr. S. Scionti of Hilton Head, South Carolina) will need his data.

I had Dr. Scionti treat my prostate cancer over 2 months ago, it was a walk in the park, no down time, no discomfort, back to work the next day and no complications or side effects. It's ultrasound!!! google internationalHIFU.com Dr. Scionti is the most experienced HIFU doc outside Europe, with 400 treatments to date....and experience counts--real big time.

HIFU is also approved and in use for 5 years in Japan, Canada, oh heck 33 countries, everywhere except the USA!!

At 40 years old radiation is out of the question, it causes cancer elsewhere.
Surgery? oh man, it's 3 days in the hospital, and open heart surgery is 4 days, so it must be pretty bad. My friend who is a urologic nurse says if her husband got prostate cancer she wouldn't do anything.

best of luck

[ohnoo]

sorry that 800 number I posted above isn't correct. The toll free number is 888-874-4384 also you can google hifucarecenter.com

I researched this quite thoroughly and can help you find whatever you need. I had such a great outcome!

[ohnoo]

oh, by the way, my friend the nurse, she would have her husband do HIFU, now that she knows about it. I know of 7 men who have been treated, up to 7 years ago, and all have had NO complications or down time.

[robinrae3]

About a month ago, they did a news story on HIFU, I did some research but found that they don't offer it in the USA, as you mentioned. That being the case, I didn't think our health plan would cover it. I've been doing a lot of reading up on the various options and thought the brachytherapy was a better option but now I'm not so sure. For one thing is that if it doesn't work, only in rare cases would they do salvage prostate surgery which could be far worse than if it had been as the original course of action. Bladder incontinence is one thing, bowel incontinence is a whole other ballgame and at 46, that wouldn't be ideal. Besides, I very rarely run across posts of people who did the seed implant so to give personal feedback on their experience. Most men seem opt for the prostate surgery. As HIFU has been used for sometime outside the US, there should be enough time to be able to check longterm success rates, which is my concern. But I did read that HIFU still left the option of having the surgery if the HIFU procedure was unsuccessful whereas the seeds don't.

At the end of the day, my concern is for his health and logevity. I wouldn't want him to compromise that so that he will be more efficient as a firefigther for but with a shorter life expectancy, when he can use a method that may give him a better outcome even if the sacrafice is his line of work, which he loves with his heart and soul.

[ohnoo]

My brother is a firefighter, so I felt like I "knew" your husband.

Blue Cross/Shield does cover HIFU, read your policy, from what I understand some policies will cover HIFU, some will cover it only if you go ahead and have it done, without notifing them..eh? So, read it.

HIFU cost $25,000. I think International HIFU offers financial payments, but I'm not positive. At 40 years old I figured it was worth the cost to not have all the risks involved of radiation and surgery. My nurse friend tells me she thinks incontinence is more like 90%, men don't speak of it, she said, "if you saw the surgery you just wouldn't think anyone could come out continent, nerves are everywhere, it's messy awful surgery". And, I think, he won't be able to be a firefighter if he is incontinent.

Brachytherapy is radiation.

Yes, in the rare case HIFU doesn't work he can still do surgery or radiation .

I really wish you'd give them a call, find out if he even qualifies before you rattle your brain....they need to know the PSA, Gleason score, all that data. Dr. S. Scionti is in charge of keeping all the data for the Americas and Asia, so his record is important to him.

Where do you live? There's another well experienced doc on HIFU in Santa Rosa, CA. Dr. Lazar. But Dr. Lazar told me, "Dr. Scionti is the king of HIFU, he teaches all the USA & Canada doctors."

At 2 weeks post I wouldn't have known I ever had cancer, it's so worth the $25,000. You must have a supra pubic catheter for 2 weeks, that's why I say "at 2 weeks". It's a drag, but he will need that after surgery too, then there's all the extra costs ~ like pads, very expensive....not to mention loss of job.

Did you know most doctors own a portion of the radiation equipment?

I'm sorry if I sound too pushy, guess I'm thinking you could be my brother's wife, he is so young. I am so happy I went for the HIFU.

[mris_guru]

Hi Robin,

There are other options for you and your husband. As the other gentleman said HIFU is one of those. HIFU is an excellent treatment for Prostatitus and Prostate Cancer. One option that I personally believe in is, CDM (Chronic Disease Management). Did your Doctor give you the biopsy results showing how many cores were positive and a Gleason score? Does your husband have any history in his family of Prostate or Breast Cancer? Being that your husband is on the younger side for Prostate Cancer, that makes decision on which treatment even more difficult. If you would like some more info please let me know. Good luck & Hang in there...Craig