HIFU as an Effective Treatment Option for Prostate Cancer
December 17, 2019 11:37 amHIFU, or high intensity focused ultrasound, is exactly as its name implies. It is an FDA approved innovative treatment for prostate cancer that uses sound waves to precisely focus cancer cells and destroy them while leaving the surrounding tissue intact.
Benefits of HIFU for Prostate Cancer
The greatest benefits of HIFU for prostate cancer are dramatically reduced incidences of both urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction compared to other types of surgery or radiation. Many men avoid treatment for prostate cancer due to these particularly unpleasant side effects associated with other treatments.
Additional benefits of HIFU include the following:
- Performed as an outpatient procedure
- Much less invasive than surgery or radiation therapy
- No incisions
- HIFU treatment takes hours compared to radiation which takes weeks
- Shorter recovery time compared to surgery
- Ability to return to normal activities within days
- Little to no pain during the procedure
How HIFU Works
This minimally invasive procedure uses sound waves that are transmitted through the wall of the rectum to the cancerous tumor in the prostate. These heated waves are able to kill cancer cells within seconds. Western States HIFU also uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound imaging during the procedure to determine exactly where the tumor is located.
Short bursts of energy can kill cancer cells about the size of a grain of rice in only 3 seconds. The entire procedure takes approximately 2-4 hours, and patients are typically able to return home the very same day.
Who Are the Best Candidates for HIFU?
In order to be a good candidate for this procedure, patients must be in the early stages of prostate cancer, meaning the cancer must be localized to the prostate and has not spread outside to other tissues or organs.
Those who have experienced a recurrence of prostate cancer after radiation therapy can be good candidates. Men who face serious risks posed by other common treatments for prostate cancer can be considered for HIFU treatments.
Any person looking to avoid the side effects and complications of surgery or radiation should devote some of their time to thoroughly evaluating HIFU as a safe and effective option to treating their prostate cancer.
Age, overall health, and the size of the prostate are among the other criteria that will be influential in determining a man’s candidacy for HIFU. If you are considering a HIFU procedure, contact Western States HIFU today and discover your potential outlook and quality of life after treatment.
As always, if you have any further questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please call (844) HIFU-DOC or fill out our online contact form today!
This post was written by Western States HIFU