As with any treatment for prostate cancer, there is a risk of damage to the prostate. Treatments like surgery or radiation therapy, for example, typically cause urinary problems and erection difficulties, but they may be temporary. The HIFU beam uses highly-targeted heat to the prostate and may cause some issues as well.
Problems are more likely to happen if you’ve had more than one HIFU treatment, or if you’re having other treatments at the same time.
What are the odds of
side effects from focal HIFU?
Around 1 in 100 men who have focal HIFU will have some minor urine leakage, which is pretty comparable to the standard treatments of
and .2 in 3 men who have good erections before treatment will still have good erections after treatment. 1 in 3 men will need to have tablets or other treatments to help the erections. Many men notice the volume of ejaculate is reduced, but this is not a problem for most men.
1 in 4 men who have a focal HIFU treatment will need another by 5 years. 1 in 15 men will need surgery or radiation therapy after a focal HIFU treatment. Surgery is usually more difficult after focal HIFU.
Side effects you might experience
right after focal HIFU include:
blood in your urine (pee)
blood from your stool (poop)
blood in your semen
fever
swelling in the testicles
If you have fever or swelling in the testicles see your doctor urgently, as you may have an infection.
What about
whole HIFU?
With whole HIFU, there are a lot of the same side effects, but they may be to a greater degree. It is best to speak with your doctor to understand more about whole HIFU.
Your doctor can advise you on whether HIFU is a suitable treatment option and how you can access it.
