Thank you to Donna T. from Aspen, CO. who submitted her perspective on her husband's HIFU experience on October 26, 2009.

My husband had HIFU in December 2008. The procedure itself is just nothing to write about...the only hard part was not eating solid foods the day prior, but I used the coffee maker in our room to make up two different flavors of Jell-O and fed him "chicken wings" (actually chicken broth) and "steak" for dinner (actually beef broth) and he lived, even after swearing he would starve to death.

He did the enema the next day, and off we went to the hospital. I slept in the waiting room; (sleeping was) something I hadn't done for weeks since he was diagnosed. The whole team just made me so relaxed, there were about five people there all dressed in International HIFU uniforms. I knew my sweetie was in the best hands on earth, and all would be great.

The procedure took a little over two hours, then they fed him lunch and our nurse taught him how to deal with the catheter. After the anesthesia wore off we were taken back to our hotel by a hospital chauffeur and the nurse, who phoned us the next day to make sure all was well. We went out to dinner and he was just in awe that he felt fine! He said, "I thought I'd feel something down there—pain in sitting or something—but I feel like nothing happened."

We had been instructed to phone or email our doctor every three days, or if we had a question, call him at home or on his Blackberry anytime day or night. I kept in touch, but there really wasn't anything to ask about. Hubby was instructed to urinate on his own, by clamping off the catheter after four days, and was simply thrilled when he did without any trouble! Hubby dealt with the catheter (it's no picnic) and after a little more than two weeks it was removed by a friend who is urological nurse, at home. It took a minute.

It's been more than 10 months now. Our lives are completely as they were prior to HIFU. It is a wonderful, amazing invention that has saved my husband's dignity and our quality of life. All I can ask is why was this invented in 1941 and it's just now being let out of the closet? I feel badly for all the men who don't know this easy procedure is available, albeit out of the country, so I try to tell everyone I know about it—short of stopping friends on the street and asking, "How's your PSA?" My husband's PSA is now 0.3, as he still has a gland there will always be some reading, just low and stable.

Thanks again to Donna for sharing her perspective. If you are interested in connecting directly to Donna or other people about their experience, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to send an email request.

Donna's story is not meant to represent all HIFU experiences. Click here to read other stories and to explore all potential risks and benefits of HIFU.