No: 8 in a series of articles - Photo & Sono Dynamic Therapy
Some physicians maybe familiar with the term photodynamic therapy from its use in dermatology and some may of heard of it as an FDA approved secondary treatment of esophageal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. In the USA, clinical trials and research studies are under way to evaluate the use of PDT for cancers of the brain, skin, prostate, cervix, and peritoneal cavity. In other parts of the world, namely China, Australia, England, Germany and Mexico, PDT in conjunction with SDT(sonodynamic therapy) are already being used with success in the treatment of prostate cancer.
I traveled to Melbourne, Australia and the Opal Clinic to explore their approach to treating prostate cancer. The Opal Clinic is run by Douglas Mitchell Ph.D. He was the Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology, 2002- 2005 and prior to that a research scientist for 18 years, including 15 years at the New York State Department of Health. He has published in the medical journals Pediatrics and Clinical Chemistry.
According to Dr. Mitchell, patients ingest a “sensitizer" which is very selectively taken up by cancer cells.To activate the sensitizer they are then exposed to intense light of a specific wavelength by lying for 25(+-) minutes per day for 14 days in an enclosed “light bed” capsule. Depending on the cancer, certainly with prostate cancer, the patient then is treated with “ultra-sound” directed towards the prostate area through the lower abdomen. Additionally, a laser light source is then directed at the prostate by a rectal probe. The light and sound frequencies and vibrations activate the sensitizer producing free radical oxygen, which attacks the cancer. The therapy has a direct, cancer killing effect, and is applicable to a wide range of cancers. The treatment is carried out at the clinic on an outpatient basis with minimal side effects, usually tiredness. There is no evidence of any long term damage, concludes Dr. Mitchell.
What continues to fascinate me is that this treatment was invented and developed in the USA but, as far as prostate cancer is concerned, it is not available here. I don’t think you can always say that our system of evaluating cancer treatments is as leading edge as we might imagine. Sometimes I feel that there is more politics and financial interests deciding what cancer patients can or cannot get to treat or even cure their cancer. Other countries, Australia and Germany for two, seem to be more progressive in such matters.
In my prostate cancer documentary I make reference to treatments that are available in other countries because I believe that when faced with a potential death sentence - which is how many urologists confront their diagnosed patients – a patient needs to educate themselves to all that is available to them and then make an educated decision. Through interviewing several patients I have learned that they have educated themselves so that their doctors are obligated to address them almost as equals instead of what often happens where the patient is a sheep being led along conventional paths that might not be appropriate.
Photo and Caption
Doug Mitchell, Opal Clinic
