Joe Tuftnell, 70, was not convinced when his doctors told him that the best course of treatment for his early-stage prostate cancer was to do nothing. Instead, he went to Prague to have his tumor destroyed by proton beam therapy, not available on the NHS.
Joe was diagnosed last April and was told by his hospital consultant that the cancer could be managed with ‘active surveillance’. He could not see the point of waiting for the condition to worsen, but the alternatives (surgery and traditional radiation therapy) involved considerable risk of impotence and incontinence.
Then last year he was visiting a friend in Prague when he saw a newspaper article about the Prague Proton Therapy Centre, which offers proton beam therapy, which is less destructive to surrounding tissue and less likely to cause side-effects. “The success rates were the same as conventional treatments offered in the UK,” says Joe. “While there was no guarantee I’d not suffer side-effects, the chances looked promising.”
Joe gathered his life savings and had the 16.000£ procedure last June. “There was no pain or discomfort”, he remembers. “I left the hospital within an hour of arriving… My PSA has now dropped from 7 to 1.8 and I’m living a normal life !”
Sources : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2566904/Prostate-cancer-breakthrough-NHS-wont-offer-It-spare-men-like-Joe-effects-treatment-So-available-abroad.html
