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Please - can anyone give advice on what is best therapy AFTER have a failed HIFU! I understand
the second time around - HIFU is much more risky and can have serious side effects. Also, since
it failed once worried it will fail again. My husband is still not sure what to do - though
considering HDR BT or another HIFU at this point. (He will not do surgery for fear of side effects).
If anyone has been in this situation please share. (I read all HIFU stories on this site as well as all HDR BT.) Thanks so much.
Judy; We all know what process you guys are going through. There are many different varieties of seriousness of this disease and as many different choices about how to treat. None of the choices are good but some sort of choice is needed - even if it is doing nothing. We all are afraid of the side effects and there ARE side effects, no doubt about it! VERY few get by without some of them, no matter what treatment is chosen. Side effects are not fatal - cancer could be! Sort out your priorities first of all. If side effects are high enough on your list to risk your chances of survival, than go that route but consider carefully. Seeing things from "this side" are quite different than actually being there when reality strikes after one has made his choice. If beating this disease is high on your list, then "dam the torpedoes" and go for the best chance of doing so in spite of the side effects. Personally, I hate what treatment has done to me BUT - it is much preferred over what the disease could be doing to me now had I not tried my best to beat it. I would do it again, now knowing the outcome. You would be surprised what you can endure (and adjust to) if it means preserving life. Best wishes, Jon.
Jon, thanks for your reply. I totally agree with what you wrote - but my husband.. is truly scared of side effects AND the possibility of secondary cancers from certain treatments. It is all very scary for sure.
You would not believe this, but in our search for what to do - we met with a radiologist specialist (drove 3 hours) whose hospital offered Proton Beam and other therapy options. He basically told my husband
ANY treatment would leave him with side effects, and since he was now healthy (other than the PC) why
get treated and have a lessor quality of life! I was shocked and speechless. I expected a sales pitch
on the PB but no -- very strange. Then he sends in an resident doc who was plugging for Brachy seed (LDR) as he was "learning"how to do it. Needless to say we said no-way and drove home! So here we are
still not sure what is the best way to go. We then met with the HIFU doctor and again, we were shocked to learn from him he had another failure (from an initial HIFU) and agreed to do a second one - well
guess what, that failed too!!! So are some men's prostrates thicker or what is the reason why HIFU
did not work after 2 of them and for others it works? It is very difficult to know what to do. I read
with PC surgery from 30 - 50% failure rates! So none of this is easy. All of the men on here are so
brave - thanks so much for your helpful comments/advice.
