A new procedure called HIFU (high-intensity focused ultrasound) – which has been designed for treating prostate cancer patients – can rid the disease from nine in ten men without causing incapacitating side effects. Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez says the procedure provides new hope for tens of thousands of men.
The treatment – which involves heating just the tumors with a highly focused ultrasound – will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital or the distressing side effects associated with existing therapies.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men with over 37,000 diagnoses made each year resulting in approximately 10,000 deaths.
Current treatments for prostate cancer include surgery to remove the entire prostate or radiotherapy. Your Miami urologist advises that while both of these procedures can effectively treat the cancer, they often cause side effects such as incontinence and impotence.
Focal HIFU involves careful location of tumors, some as small as a grain of rice, within the prostate gland and targeting them with highly focused ultrasound to heat and ultimately and destroy them.
The advantage over previous HIFU and other treatments is that damage to surrounding tissue is minimized, resulting in far fewer side effects. And the results have been very encouraging. Your Miami urologist is optimistic that men diagnosed with prostate cancer may soon be able to have a one-day surgical procedure, which can be safely repeated once or twice, to treat their condition with very few side-effects. That could result in a significant improvement in their quality of life.
If you are interested in learning more about the HIFU treatment for prostate cancer, call the office of Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez today to schedule a confidential consultation.
