Prostate Cancer and Focal Laser Ablation

[markolcott]

Greetings,

I am 77 years old in May.

Under the care of a swell credentialed scottsdale urology group , I had a prostate biopsy in April 2021. Their pathologist graded 2 out of 12 samples as cancerous, 3+3 and 3+4.

Advised that radiation was a good alternative, I began to research my options.

Long story short, I had FLA in May 2024 at HALO DX.

At the time of my FLA, my PSA was around 9, my prostate size was 155cc. I was using Tamsulosin .4.

HALO ablated 2 areas, 3+3, 3+3, one near the nerve bundles. HALO also reduced the size of my prostate. (Mayo and Halo had regraded my biopsy samples.)

In late 2021 I began my engagement with HALO.

In early 2022, I became a patient at the MAYO Clinic Rochester. In 2024, Mayo wanted me to continue on AS , to delay having FLA with them (they use FLA), until such time that my cancer grew or the growth of my prostate became more problematic. (Had my prostate been a more normal size, had there been no issues of having trouble urinating or voiding, I would have likely continued on AS.)

I opted to have FLA at HALO Dx rather than wait.

My prostate was reduced by only 20% but I have a strong urine stream now, void completely, and do not use Tamsulosin. My erections are as good or better as before the FLA. My recent PSA was 4.5.

An MRI ordered by my local Urologist showed that the cancer is gone. (The MRI was also reviewed by MAYO and their read confirmed this outcome.)

I will be having PSA tests every 90 days and subject to those scores, will have my next MRI one year from now.

The Mayo Clinic is an amazing organization and I would recommend them to anyone for anything they treat. My biopsy with them was an amazing process. I learned so much from them about my cancer. I had 3 MRI's with them in Rochester. Everything they do is first class. Their Doctors, Nurses, Customer Service skills, facilities and technologies, etc. are amazing. (For context, I am very familiar with St Johns in Santa Monica, Swedish in Seattle, Cedars Sinai, and other fine heath care orgs.)

As a person who values results, I have to thank HALO DX for doing what they promised they would do, to use their technology and skill to eradicate my cancer and to reduce the size of my prostate.

If anyone would like to learn more about my experience there, please feel free to write me a note.

[Gato48]

Thanks for the great information. Unfortunately I wasn’t a candidate. I had a radical prostatectomy. This is very good information for anyone newly diagnosed.

[markolcott in reply to Gato48]

Thank you Gato, I hope all is well for you and yours.

[Gato48 in reply to markolcott]

Thanks Mark. My first PSA was undetectable so that’s great news. I’m fairly new to this. Any anecdotal information that we share with others can be very helpful. This is a great site to give insight to anyone that are in the same shoes as we are. I am thankful for anyone that shares their experiences. I hope everything goes well for you too.

[PTvsPC]

I'm really happy to hear you are cancer free. That's such good news! It sounds like you did your research and will continue to be diligent. It also sounds like you were the ideal candidate for FT. It's a tough decision and there are trade-offs with any type of treatment. It's always a very personal decision for which route to take.

Here's a really good video about focal therapy by Dr. Ahdoot at Cedars. He really lays it all out clearly and I have an appt with him in a few weeks.

youtube.com/watch?v=cd_t0Kl...(Not working as expected?)

I hope it's helpful to anyone considering treatments like me.

[Mgtd]

Thank you for posting this.