SALT LAKE CITY, (ABC 4 News) - One in six men in the U.S. with face a battle with prostate cancer at some point in their life. Now, a cutting edge procedure is available, the only problem is that it is not yet approved by the FDA.
Cache County resident, Roy Hugie was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008. Full of life and energy, he knew his cancer needed to be treated, but he wanted to make sure it wouldn't slow him down.
After months of research, Hugie knew traditional treatments used everyday in the U.S. were not for him. "The side effects are worse than the disease," Hugie said. "I didn't want to risk the likelyhood of incontinence or erectile dysfunction."
After learning about a new procedure called HIFU (High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound), Hugie was put in touch with Salt Lake City urologist, Steven Gange. Gange is one of three doctors in the West who is experienced using HIFU, a therapy that distroys unhealthy tissue with rapid heat elevation.
The procedure is popular around the world. It is the common treatment for patients in in Japan and Europe, popular because it's non-invasive and has a much lower risk of side-effects.
"Seventy-five percent of patients who have received HIFU have had no long-term side effects," Dr. Gange said. "Those numbers are reversed with the traditional treatments."
Right now, HIFU is not approved by the FDA. Clinical trails are underway in the U.S., but Gange estimates it could be a couple more years before HIFU is performed in the United States.
In the mean time, Gange travels to Cancun with patients who are interested in the procedure.
If you are interested in learning more about HIFU, click here.
http://www.westernhifu.com 
