Prostate cancer treatment just took a huge leap forward
Handle with care
It’s easy to get tons of free medical advice if you’re a famous billionaire. Just tell the world you have prostate cancer. The advice will come pouring in.
Last week, I was one of those who offered Warren Buffett some unsolicited suggestions on how to treat his prostate cancer.
Now, of course, I’m not a doctor. But as I said last week, if you look at the details that Buffett released, treating his stage one cancer with radiation appears to be completely unnecessary.
Radiation comes with a virtual guarantee of adverse side effects. And that’s a significant consideration. If left untreated, his disease would probably have zero impact on his quality of life.
But Buffett seems to be motivated to pursue an aggressive treatment.
In that case, I’d like to offer Buffett an additional suggestion. It could easily save him (and millions of other prostate cancer patients) years of unnecessary suffering.
A leader of men
Mr. Buffett, let’s look at your options as if you were sizing up two investment opportunities. Okay?
Option one is radiation therapy.
The obvious drawback of radiation is that it’s, you know, RADIATION! In oncology, radiation is as common as candy Peeps at Easter. It’s such a standard of care that patients don’t recoil in horror. But they should. Few toxins on earth are even half as harmful as radiation.
And, of course, there are adverse effects. Short-term side effects include diarrhea, rectal pain, and irritable bowels. As for long-range side effects, you can expect incontinence, impotence, and fatigue.
The success rate of radiation for prostate cancer is about 50%.
Option two is high-intensity focused ultrasound.
In HIFU, ultrasound heats and kills prostate tumors. This therapy has been around for a while, but so far, research is limited. A new UK study changes all that.
University College London researchers report remarkable results. Nine out of 10 prostate cancer patients treated with HIFU were cancer-free at one year, with few major side effects. No men experienced incontinence. Only one in ten reported impotence.
Based on this study, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence stated that HIFU is safe and effective. The NIHCE also gave the green light to larger trials in the UK.
If you were betting your money on one of them — let alone your life — which would you choose?
Now, I’m no billionaire. And I’m certainly not one of the shrewdest, most successful investors of all time. But here’s my advice: no treatment at all.
As I said last week, a man of 81 with stage one prostate cancer is a 100% perfect candidate for watchful waiting. Why risk any side effects treating a cancer that will probably never do any harm at all?
But if Buffett is committed to pursuing treatment, he should devote his considerable resources to an investigation of HIFU.
If he chooses this new technique, he will lead untold numbers of men into the future of safe prostate cancer therapy.
Not to mention, it could end up being a great investment — and not just in his health.
Sources:
“New treatment for prostate cancer gives ‘perfect results’ for nine in ten men: research”<br> Rebecca Smith, the Telegraph, 4/16/12, telegraph.co.uk
“High-intensity focused ultrasound in prostate cancer; a systematic literature review of the French Association of Urology” British Journal of Urology International, Vol. 101, no. 10, May 2008, bjui.org
