SARASOTA, Fla., April 15 /2010 PRNewswire/ --
During a routine physical in September 2006, retired
airline pilot Jeff Albulet's doctor thought he 'felt
something' when he did a digital rectal exam, although Jeff's
prostate specific antigen (PSA) was only 2. Six months
later, Jeff's PSA rose to 3.5, and a biopsy showed pre-cancerous
cells. In discussing his options with his primary
care physician, he learned about a treatment that would
save his prostate and not cause impotence or incontinence.
According the
Dr. Friedrich
Douwes,
Medical Director of St. George Hospital in Bad Aibling, Germany,
president of the German Oncological Society and the
author of several hundred scientific articles and books,
trans-urethral prostate hyperthermia has a
100% initial response rate.
Albulet's
doctor had heard Douwes speak at a medical conference in Las
Vegas, NV. Douwes helped to develop the
Oncotherm radio-wave hyperthermia treatment, which
heats the entire prostate without harming healthy tissue.
He has successfully treated thousands of prostate
cancer patients, many from the USA. In use for
over 25 years, radio-wave hyperthermia is the treatment
of choice in Europe for many cancers. When
Albulet learned that the treatment took only one week and
had a dramatic success rate without side effects, he was
elated.
The prostate is a small, walnut sized gland that sits in
front of the rectum and just below the bladder. This
gland produces the fluid that carries sperm through the
urethra (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to
outside the body.)
As early as age 40, the prostate may increase in size. By
age sixty, 80% of men have an enlarged prostate. This
can cause the urethra to narrow, decreasing urine flow.
Symptoms include an urgent need to urinate, a thin
stream and discomfort above the bladder. Sometimes,
prostate cells begin to grow abnormally, forming a tumor.
Symptoms of prostate cancer may include blood in the
urine, frequent urination (especially at night), weak or
interrupted flow, pain or burning when urinating and low
back pain. In most cases, early prostate cancer causes
no symptoms.
According
to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second
most common malignancy in men in the US, and the
second highest killer. Over 200,000 men in the US
were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007. In this
country, all men have a 16% chance of
being diagnosed and a 3% chance of dying from this disease.
Chances increase if a father or brother has had the
disease. Prostate cancer is more common in African
American men and the least common in Hispanic, Asian, Pacific
Islanders and Native Americans.
In
2002, the British Medical Journal published a study that
concluded male pilots have an increased risk of prostate
cancer, especially those with regular long flights. Researchers
speculate that hormonal disturbances related to
circadian rhythm may be a contributing factor.
Pilots and their crews are also exposed to low-energy
ionizing cosmic radiation which can cause mutations within
human DNA.
Conventional
treatment combines surgery (removing the prostate), radiation
and chemotherapy, along with hormone blockers. Side
effects almost always involve incontinence and
permanent impotence.
Most
men are horrified at the thought of becoming impotent and
incontinent. Perhaps that is why so many prostate
cancer patients are seeking non-invasive treatments outside
the country. Douwes' trans-urethral hyperthermia
offers a cure without side effects.
In this treatment, a small probe is introduced through the
urethra into the prostate. Radio frequencies are pulsed
into the prostate, heating the cancer cells to between 113
and 158 degrees. Because cancer cells have a different
blood supply than normal cells, they either die or become
so damaged from the heat they can no longer reproduce. Normal
cells are not affected. This treatment is non-surgical,
so no pain medications are needed and only local anesthesia
is required. And there are no side effects. Patients
stay in the hospital for five days, and receive two trans-urethral
treatments during that time, along with limited hormone
modulation and other non-toxic medications.
According
to Douwes, this treatment combined with a temporary androgen
blockade is 100% effective. The ten year
disease-free survival rate is 80%. The 20%
of patients who have a PSA relapse in three to five years
after the initial treatment can simply repeat the treatment
for longer lasting good results.
The American Cancer Society recently revised its guidelines
for routine prostate cancer screenings because of the risk
of overtreatment. Douwes feels that PSA tests are
not reliable tumor markers. Often, patients with positive
biopsies undergo an unnecessary prostatectomy. Sometimes
the 'wait and watch' approach is better, but can cause undue
stress on the patient. Prostate hyperthermia is the
perfect answer“ it kills of the cancer cells immediately,
establishing a prostate specific immune reaction and eliminating
the chance of metastases.
Jeff Albulet traveled to Germany in May of
2007. "The treatment was a breeze; I felt no
pain at all. I had a treatment in the morning and
played golf in the afternoon," Albulet says.
"Everyone at the hospital was so caring. The
only side effects I have are positive “ I no longer
have to get up at night, and all my parts are functioning
perfectly!"
SOURCE St. George Hospital