Transforming prostate cancer treatment
Paul Sayer’s prostate cancer diagnosis came as a big shock, as he didn’t have any symptoms. But revolutionary medical technology allowed him to get back to his normal life within a week of treatment. Below, he shares his story with MedTech Views during European Week Against Cancer.
“A friend who’d been diagnosed 15 years earlier kept telling me to get tested. So, the next time I was at the doctor, I asked about it,” explains the founder of the UK charity Prost8, which aims to help more men with prostate cancer get access to minimally invasive treatment. “The doctor did a physical exam and noticed some prostate enlargement, so we agreed to keep an eye on it.”
Fast forward two years, and Paul asked the doctor about it again. The doctor ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test that uses medtech to detect potential problems with the prostate, which is a small gland below a man’s bladder and in front of the rectum that produces semen. He also had another physical exam (called a digital rectal examination or DRE).
“The PSA test reading came back slightly raised, but nothing too concerning. However, the doctor noticed that my prostate felt abnormal when he did the DRE, so I was referred for further investigation,” says Paul. A biopsy of a tissue sample taken from his prostate confirmed that Paul had cancer. Further scans using medtech, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), showed that he had a sizeable tumour on the left side and a few spots on the right, but that it hadn’t spread outside the gland.
“I was given two options,” remembers Paul. “The first one was surgery, and the second was radiation therapy, almost daily, for five weeks. I did some research and I came across a newer but less-used alternative called high-intensity focused ultrasound or HIFU, which seemed much less invasive.” HIFU is a type of ‘focal therapy’ that uses energy beams to destroy tumour cells with pinpoint precision. The risk of incontinence or sexual dysfunction that often comes with surgery or radiation is significantly reduced with HIFU because there’s no damage to surrounding nerves and tissues.
“It’s a day procedure where they insert the ultrasound probe up your back end and concentrate the beam on the tumour,” explains Paul. “The procedure took around an hour and a half, and my recovery time was almost instantaneous. I had a catheter for a week, but then life went back to normal. It’s now been seven years, and I’ve had no side effects at all.”
After his experience, Paul founded the charity Prost8 to raise awareness about focal therapy treatment for prostate cancer and ensure that more men who are eligible have access to it. “This can transform men’s lives. Living with incontinence or sexual dysfunction can damage relationships and take a major emotional toll. Not everybody is a candidate, but men should know about all the treatments that are out there,” he notes.
Prostate cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in men in Europe. In Europe, about 1 in 11 men will be diagnosed in their lifetime (1).Men over 50 are at a higher risk of developing it, as well as those with a family history and men of African-Caribbean or African descent. If caught early, it’s easy to treat, but men often don’t have symptoms (such as the need to urinate more often) until it’s become more advanced. It’s recommended that men get regular PSA tests after 50, or after 45 for those at a higher risk.
