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Charlie, I must say I had never heard of Dr Dan Sperling until now so I had a quick look for information about him. Most of it is on his site SPERLING PROSTATE CENTER or in Press Releases written by or for him. This is not usually a good sign! There are many claims made by Dr Sperling, but on a quick sweep through the site I cannot find any references to trials, studies or published outcomes of his therapy. Again, that raises question marks in my mind. Any claims made in the medical world should be verifiable by reference to good reviews by qualified people.
One of the issues that Dr Sperling claims to have conquered is the precise location of any tumours that can then be treated. If he has achieved this it is very surprising that there has not been more publicity about that. I sy that because the main inhibitor in the development of what are termed Focal Therapies is how to identify just which part of the gland is to be treated and which is to be preserved. This is difficult because most of the variants of prostate cancer are what is termed heterogeneous in nature which means that prostate cancer commonly is multi-focussed. There is a very real possibility of some cancerous material being missed in focal therapies and therefore not treated. I am in the process of re-writing the CHOICES page and although I am far from finished, you might find it useful to read this part of the page FOCAL THERAPIES As I say the rest of the page is not completely edited so should not be taken as complete.
Turning to Dr Sperling's specific claims regarding prostate cancer, it seems to me to be curious that he would be able to identify all or any cancerous material in a man with a diagnosis that supports Active Surveillance where it is the norm in most if not all cases that the size of any cancerous areas is simply to small to identify.
Dr Sperling may be a genuine pioneer in the development of the therapy he claims is his. It may be in the years to come a body of evidence becomes available to prove that. Until then, the procedure can really only be described as experimental. I have a genuine admiration for pioneers because without them there wold be no advance, but men undergoing experimental, piioneering therapies must accept that there is a higher risk with thiese since they are essentially unproven.
As to your hating the thought on AS - that you have to live with even a low risk, indolent cancer - I am sure you realise that whatever therapy you choose you can never be free of the concern that the disease may get you in the end. Biochemical failures are reported 20 years and more out from initial therapy. The only good study I have seen on the subject says in essence - "If you are a worrier, you will worry about the outcome of your therapy as much as you might worry about AS."
Thanks Terry. I am also on AS and very interested in any non invasive treatments. My first choice as of now is Proton Therapy which suffers the same lack of third party long term review of the results. I am still in the waiting mode as my PSA remains stable at around 3.
Re: Proton Beam long term results - was MRI focal laser ablation
Thanks again Terry, it was not favorable, and the study is not as well circulated or publicized. Now I have to start looking for more alternatives. I do not want surgery as I just had my gall bladder taken out in April and the wound is still heling.
Hi Terry - Thanks for the input. I think I was in the "grasping at straws" state of mind. Since then I noted the NIH is just now doing clinical trials on MRI guided FLA of prostate tumors. It looks like I need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and be thankful I have doctors on my team who strongly support my choice of AS and are working with me on follow up, diet and exercise, etc. - Charlie
