CAMC is the first in West Virginia to offer Focal One™ noninvasive robotic HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. For patients that means no blade, no scar, no radiation and minimal side effects. It also means less time away from work and daily activities.
Similar to a lumpectomy for breast cancer, focal therapy targets the cancerous tumor within the prostate, sparing healthy surrounding tissue and minimizing the risk of side effects like urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction and impotence, which are commonly associated with more invasive treatments like radiation and radical prostatectomy.
Focal One combines real-time ultrasound image guidance with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy data to create a 3D image of the targeted treatment area. Using a small probe inserted into the rectum (no incisions), the urologist navigates to the tumor using 3D image guidance, directs high-speed ultrasound energy at the target area and ablates, or destroys, the diseased portion of the prostate – similar to how rays of sunlight pass through a magnifying glass and are concentrated at a single point.
“We’re proud to be at the forefront of urologic care by giving patients access to this advanced treatment,” said Samuel Deem, DO, a urologist and expert in urologic cancer who has been trained to perform robotic HIFU. “This technology opens new doors in the treatment of a very common form of cancer by preventing the need for radical surgery or radiation, while preserving patients’ quality of life.”
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the United States, behind non-melanoma skin cancers. About 11% (1 in 9) of American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and about 2.5% (1 in 41) will die from it, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Focal therapy is a treatment option for patients with prostate cancer of low to intermediate aggressiveness that is contained (localized) within the prostate. To learn more, visit camc.org/FocalOne or call CAMC Urology at (304) 388-5280.
