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Prostrate Untrasonic Ablation Clinic

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Posted 11/22/2011 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
Of all people, my dentist has had several close friends who have gone to this clinic, in Toronto, for successful treatment for PC without any SEs. Apparently, the procedure is expensive($25,000) and is relatively new. Has anyone here heard of this new procedure for PC?
Posted 11/22/2011 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
I suspect that this is HIFU?
Posted 11/22/2011 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
They do have High Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Toronto. It costs about 25k.
Maybe they also use another name for it.
Posted 11/22/2011 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
www.hifu.ca/ is the website for the HIFU people - not covered under our (Canada) universal health care - and still considered an experiimental procedure - Princess Margaret Hospital is part of the study programme for this procedure.
www.can-amhifu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=57 - the more you know - the better for you -

-here is an article dealing with possible risks - www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738755 - whether to act on HIFU as primary treatment or salvage treatment....

take care.
Bronson
Posted 11/22/2011 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
 

The term "Ablative" refers to any treatment regime that involves the use of enery to destroy the prostate, Lasers, ultrasound, cryo, are all ablative therapies.  Ultrasonic is HIFU, guess they thought "Ultrasonic Ablative" sounded cooler than HIFU.

There are places in the US that are involved in using HIFU in clinical trials. 

I'm curently just using AS, but I'm going to the Smillow center in NYC next month because they use imaging techniques to follow the cancer instead of just PSA, they can acutally spell AS (as opposed to doctors in Syracuse that just get a glazed look in their eyes) and they offer TFT using cryo and HIFU.   The HIFU is a clinical trial and I'm not sure what's involved in qualifiying.  I planned on posting what I found out after the visit.

Dave

Posted 11/22/2011 11:56 PM (GMT 0)

tatt2man said...
www.hifu.ca/ is the website for the HIFU people - not covered under our (Canada) universal health care - and still considered an experiimental procedure - Princess Margaret Hospital is part of the study programme for this procedure.
www.can-amhifu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=57 - the more you know - the better for you -

-here is an article dealing with possible risks - www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738755 - whether to act on HIFU as primary treatment or salvage treatment....

take care.
Bronson

I couldn't bother creating yet another account just to read an article.....what was the jest of the article?

Thanks everyone for your input.
Posted 11/23/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
it describes the risks to HIFU and the low success rate - I was able to see the original article without having to create an account - don't know why it did that -
-just google - hifu prostate cancer toronto risks - and you'll see the links - the pro's and cons -
take care
Bronson
Posted 11/23/2011 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
for primary treatment $25k is not expensive.  i'm pretty sure my BT cost more than 2x that.

ed

 

Posted 11/23/2011 3:07 AM (GMT 0)
Glenn

Sounds like HIFU. I suspect it is fair to say the SE rate is 1/3 to 1/2 that of surgery or radiation so not 0, but much lower rate, but the 'cure' rate is lower, so a tradeoff of benefit v risk.

Qual,

Last I heard, the trial was for salvage therapy after failed radiation. If that's not your status, the doc at Smillow/NYU does HIFU in Bermuda. Insurance likely will NOT cover, and a two hour flight from NYC, and the cure rate appears lower, but on the SE front, a significantly higher probability quality of life outcome.
Cryo reportedly has a very high impotence rate, number I saw was 80%, but some on this site swear by it.
Posted 11/23/2011 3:25 AM (GMT 0)

F8 said...
for primary treatment $25k is not expensive. i'm pretty sure my BT cost more than 2x that.
ed

My BT's didn't really cost me any, other then the travel expense which I believe I can claim as a medical expense.
Posted 11/23/2011 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
Larch,

You are correct, cryo does have a high impotence rate when used to treat the whole prostate. However, when used as a TFT the SEs are minimal as long as no complications occur during the procedure (at least according to what I've read). Like everything else with PC, no gaurentees of course. I'll likely just stick with AS until there's more data on using ablative therapies as TFTs but we'll see.
Posted 11/25/2011 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
Highly recommend book The invasion of the Prostate Snatchers by Dr. Scholtz and also www.prostateforum .com by  Drs Myers 

With a gleason six and 2 out of 12 cores positive PSA 6.9 I was on AS until colour doppler testing by Dr. Bahn in california showed they were on the periphery and not central 

Finally decided to go to St. George clinic in Bad Aibling Germany to be treated by Dr. Douwes with 6 months Hormone Therapy + Radiofrequency Transurethral Hyperthermia ( oncothermia )

Now am .2 PSA and shoudl go down further

Doctors here consider it experimental but it combines two proven treatments to kill cancer and has no long term side effects-and it still leave open window for surgery or RT. They treat about 200 men a year from all over the world and claim 85% success rate

This past month  three more men  from Toronto went and it cost about $10,000 - half of HIFU

 

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