Posted on 10/18/2023 1:51:25 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19
A promising cancer treatment that blasts tumors using soundwaves has been approved in the US.
A machine that uses histotripsy, a technique that uses sound waves to break down tumors, has been approved to treat liver tumors by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It uses targeted sound waves - like an ultrasound machine - to form microbubbles within the tumor.
The forces generated as the bubbles expand and collapse rapidly cause the cancerous mass to break apart, destroying tumor cells and leaving the debris to be eliminated by the immune system.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
bkmk
Sounds like cavitation. Same phenomenon does the same thing to ships' propellers.
Pop, Crackle, Snap?
That is a cool idea. I understand the concept and how it would work on tumors. In malignancy those cancer cells travel throughout the body and they can “hide” deep in tissue. I wonder how this therapy would capture those cells? Maybe it doesn’t—getting rid of tumors is great.
And just for comparison to chemo…my wife’s chemo was about $50k per round. And she needed 12 rounds. $12k is a bargain.
Praying that treatment comes down in price - but still, pretty cool
Seems the cancer cells breaking off from the original tumor could enter your bloodstream or lymph system and spread to other areas of your body.
My oncological surgeon that did my stomach cancer surgery responded to my question about what made liver and pancreatic surgery so difficult described it as operating on a big stick of softened butter.
If they truly wanted to save lives, they would have a much more reasonable price for such a simple process to treat/cure tumors/cancer. (The treatments would pay for themselves (equipment) rather quickly.)
BUT, it’s only for the elite, ya know?!
Simple in concept but is it simple in practice?
As always the devil is in the details.
And it is never cheap to get through the approval process.
That is cheap, comparatively.
I recently went to the emergency room because I coughed up blood. I had a bad virus and had ruptured lung tissue.
They x-rayed me. Did some blood tests. A nose swab. A breathing test. Sent me home with two prescriptions.
I just got the bill - $4952.
$12,000 to save your life is peanuts.
that was exactly my first thought also
Ultrasound has been used for decades to break up kidney stones...this is just a step up. One worry...in animal studies only 80% had full tumor elimination. What happened in the other 20%?
Are the cancer cells really destroyed? Loose cells can settle in for metastasis.
My Gleason 7 prostate cancer (fast-growing, deadly) was “ablated” (burned-up) by high-frequency ultrasound in 2020 in the non-invasive/non-surgical TULSA-Pro procedure and is no more, thank the Lord!
PSA was .655 last month. My 49 yr. old son’s is higher.
Painless, no bad side effects. All systems normal.
Different technologies. Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy uses shockwaves, which are pressure waves made of “white noise,“ to distort and break up stones. It works because kidney stones are much denser than anything in the body, even bones, so the pressure waves travel through the body until reaching the stone. HIFU, or high-intensity focused ultrasound, uses sound waves at a certain frequency that heats the targeted tissue to destroy cancer cells. It has been used in Europe and other parts of the world for years, but the FDA has been slow to approve it for the US. It is a promising alternative to radiation therapy and cryosurgery.
That’s great.
Thank you for posting about TULSA-Pro in this thread Arlis. Your doing it before is how I found out about this procedure to treat my prostrate cancer. Like you, I’m cancer free and still have 98% of my “abilities”, with that missing 2% likely due to my age. The procedure should be fully FDA approved soon so that insurance will cover it.
I was well on my way to having a complete removal of my prostrate and expecting the ED/urinary issues that come with it. Wife and I spent a week in a cabin thinking this might be the last time we’d get full use of my “abilities.”
Instead, I think I could hammer a few nails in with it if needed. I thank you and my wife thanks you for spreading the word. Six months after, my PSA is at 0.4. :-)
6 months after my PSA was .222 !!!!
So glad to hear all this - hope many more do the same...
It reminds me of the Woody Allen movie called “Sleeper.” The medical devices were used with sound.
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