Medical Minute: New Procedure Offers Hope For Men Facing Prostate Cancer Recurrence

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the U.S., and 20% to 30% of men who beat it once will face a recurrence within five years.

A new treatment, known as salvage HIFU, is providing more options for men with limited choices after undergoing radiation therapy during their initial cancer treatment.

For outdoor enthusiast Bill Sedivy, a routine annual physical in 2014 revealed elevated PSA levels, leading to a prostate cancer diagnosis.

“I received radiation therapy and treatments. It slowed me for a good year,” Sedivy said.

After entering remission, Sedivy’s cancer returned in September 2023. His doctors proposed full removal of the prostate, but Sedivy sought a second opinion, which brought him to Dr. Zeyad Schwen.

“What’s unique with after radiation is any treatment afterward is very challenging, particularly surgery. Usually, that’s the only option for most men who have had radiation and the cancer came back,” Schwen explained.

Schwen recommended salvage HIFU, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that uses focused ultrasound waves to heat and kill cancer cells while preserving the prostate.

“Salvage HIFU is a promising newer option for people who have had a recurrence in their prostate,” Schwen said.

Compared to traditional surgeries, salvage HIFU has fewer sexual and urinary side effects and offers a quicker recovery time.

A month after the procedure, Sedivy was well enough to travel to Costa Rica.

“I’m hoping that procedure will give me another decade of normal life to do what I love to do and be with the people I love,” he said.

Salvage HIFU is specifically for men whose prostate cancer has returned but hasn’t spread beyond the prostate.

Sedivy credits annual screenings for catching his cancer early both times. Doctors recommend PSA screenings for men starting at age 50.