Robert
Leba and Wendy live in Canada. He was 59 when he was diagnosed in July, 2007.
His initial PSA was 5.6 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7 (3+4) and although he does
not give his staging, it seems likely that he was staged T1c. His choice of treatment
was HIFU. Here is his story.
There had been a history of prostatitis, and
an enlarged prostate (50cc) for a few years. My PSA was in the high 3's and about
4 years ago went up to 4.0. In the Spring of '06 my PSA went up to 4.6 and in
the Spring of '07 had climbed to 5.2. This led to a TRUS and a referral to a urologist
who did a biopsy in July of '07. My PSA had climbed to 5.6 and the biopsy revealed
cancer in the mid right and left apex of the prostate.
The urologist told
me that I could have a radical, and have the prostate removed in six weeks. We
asked about other options, and were told that radiation was an option, and an
appointment was arranged to see an oncologist.
My wife and I did extensive
reading on the internet about all options, and we sought out a second opinion
from another urologist. We also found a peer support group in Toronto called Man
to Man, and I attended a meeting, and told the group my circumstances, and was
assured that the course of action I was taking was good, and that the doctors
that I was seeing were well known and highly skilled in their respective fields.
With
the searching and reading we came across HIFU, which seemed like a good route
to follow, and as it happened, the urologist I was seeing for a second opinion
is also a practitioner of HIFU. After he had reviewed my charts, and told me that
I was a candidate for either surgery or radiation, I asked him about HIFU, and
he asked me, what about HIFU?
I told him that I was aware that he did it,
and asked if I was a candidate for it. He told me I was, but that it was expensive,
and gave me some information, and told me if I was interested, to see him in a
couple of weeks.
On December 9/07, I reported into the clinic for my HIFU
procedure at 7 AM, and was home at 2:30 PM that afternoon. I had a Supra-pubic
catheter, which remained in me for almost 4 weeks. The only discomfort I had was
with the catheter, and it was adjusted one week after the procedure by the nurse
at the clinic. I found the nurse extremely helpful, and the clinic, Can-AM HIFU,
was most attentive to my questions and my concerns after the procedure.
The
Catheter was removed January 7, 2008. My first PSA after the procedure was in
March, and it was 0.28.
I have had no issues whatsoever, and so far, my
experience has been very positive.
Robert's e-mail address is: rochab1@yahoo.com
