Tag: focal treatment

What happens when a doctor’s advice doesn’t match a patient’s priorities? For men facing low-risk prostate cancer, finding agreement on management—whether monitoring, aggressive treatment, or focal therapy—can shape both outcomes and satisfaction. New insights highlight how shared decision-making brings patient goals into clearer focus. keep reading

Radiation doesn’t always mean the end of prostate cancer. Could focal therapy offer hope for recurrence? A new study on MRI-guided TULSA sheds light on benefits—and risks—that patients should know. keep reading

“What treatment do most patients choose?” Occasionally I’m asked this question, so I thought it would be interesting to present some statistics from published studies. 2011 data (low risk PCa) I’ll start with data presented in a 2011 article by a British team.[i] The authors collected records on 768 of their center’s patients with early keep reading

Before a prostate cancer patient makes a final decision to have focal laser ablation, I go over the details of MRI-guided FLA and what to expect after treatment. I remind each person that it’s important to monitor for PCa recurrence. After any focal treatment (cryo, HIFU, Focal Laser Ablation, MRgFUS, TULSA) PCa can either come back in the treatment site—called treatment failure, meaning the treatment did not destroy all the cancer at the site—or recur in a different location... keep reading

What do Italy and China have in common? At first glance, the two countries don’t appear to share much by way of geography (Europe vs. Asia), size (small vs. gigantic), or culture (Western vs. Oriental). However, according Eastant, a market research and consulting team, the two nations embrace four similar characteristics: a proud history, family keep reading

Curiosity is, well, a curious thing. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes dubbed it “the lust of the mind.” After all, from birth onward the brain has a constant appetite to know stuff. In a New Science article, science writer Dan Jones states, “Curiosity is the driving force behind science, exploration and discovery.” It may occur as keep reading

Unnecessary treatment. Morbidities (side effects). Up to 67% overdiagnosis. These words and phrases come from a published literature review that asks, “What chance do we have to decrease prostate cancer overdiagnosis and overtreatment?” For many, the answer lies in... keep reading

Out of curiosity, I took a tour of well respected websites that offer prostate cancer treatment information to patients or those worried about the disease. I was disappointed with the results of my “survey.” When it comes to treatment... keep reading

One of the ongoing themes in my blogs is the importance of matching a patient’s prostate cancer with the treatment for which he is best qualified. The lower the risk, the more treatment options will be open, possibly including focal therapy. However, “bulky” intermediate-to-high risk prostate cancer excludes focal treatment because it requires a more aggressive approach... keep reading

Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) has sparked a revolution in prostate cancer (PCa) detection, diagnosis and image-guided treatments. Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) does not even begin to compare with the anatomic definition and tissue characterization provided by high-resolution, 3D mpMRI scans. This breakthrough technology has been a godsend for patients in such areas as Avoiding unnecessary needle biopsies keep reading