Hi Martin and welcome to this forum, though sorry for the reason that brings you here.
It's not clear whether your clinicians have suggested you should consider HIFU as you are a suitable candidate for it or whether you have heard/read about it and wish to learn what others have experienced before consulting a HIFU specialist. If the latter is the case, you should be aware that HIFU will only treat cancer within the Prostate or very close to it and then only where the probe can focus the ultrasound to ablate the tumour. Also, calcification can make it difficult to successfully administer. It works best where there is a small tumour on only one side of the Prostate, although it can be repeated which sometimes needs to be done. Where there is a tumour in the Prostate that cannot be reached, sometimes the even lesser used (in the UK) Cryotherapy may be possible.
My experience of HIFU for failed RT was that I could walk away within an hour or two having come round after the procedure although the swelling became more evident the next day and for a few days thereafter. It might not eradicate a tumour quite so well as surgery or radiation in so many cases but if not obliterating it, it usually sets the cancer back and for men who have failed RT, focal therapy can delay HT and other systemic treatments as I can personally attest.
I had my HIFU done by the same highly experienced lady Professor as Clare's husband, although mine was within a study at UCLH .
Here is my experience :- https://community.prostatecanceruk.org/posts/t10960-HIFU--my-experience#post133611
Edited by member 10 Jun 2020 at 02:00
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Barry |
User
Thanks Barry your post was very helpful as you had your treatment on a trial in 2015 do you think the equipment and expertise has improved over the 5 year period .good to see you still out there and thanks for your views on delaying ht .
User
Well as with all procedures for PCa good outcomes depend to a considerable extent on what the individual patient presents with. Also, it depends on the skill and experience of the person administering the treatment. Certainly, techniques have improved over recent years and equipment has been refined. For instance robotic surgery, more controlled and less damaging RT and more advanced probes focusing the ultrasound for HIFU with better temperature control for example. The risk of fistulas has been greatly reduced with this procedure. Of course not all improvements happen at the same time in every type of treatment but one advantage they all now benefit from is the advances that continue to be made with scans. As regards HIFU in France they use the French 'Ablatherm' whereas in the UK the American 'Sonablate' is more often used. There is a said to be a more advanced HIFU system called 'Exablate' but I don't think it is used much in the UK (as yet). Certainly, when I asked UCLH about it quite recently they said they didn't have it and were still using 'Sonablate', no doubt an updated version. There is yet another type of HIFU that has been tested in Germany and perhaps elsewhere but this works in a different way. It is called 'Tulsa- Pro'. It could prove to be better in some situations but only trials and time will tell.
Edited by member 10 Jun 2020 at 20:51
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Barry |