For the men who have beat Prostate Cancer once, 20 to 30 percent will show signs of recurrence after five years, and another round of therapies can be complicated.

Whether it's hiking, birdwatching, or white-water rafting, Bill Sedivy can't get enough of the great outdoors.

But a routine annual physical in 2014 changed everything when his doctor noticed his PSA levels were elevated. It was Prostate Cancer.

"I received radiation therapy and treatments. It slowed me for a good year," Sedivy said.

Sedivy went into remission and then in September 2023, the cancer came back. Since he had radiation for his initial treatment, Sedivy's options were limited.

"What's unique with after radiation is any treatment afterward is very challenging, particularly surgery. Usually that's the only option for most men who have had radiation and the cancer came back," Cleveland Clinic Urologic Oncologist Dr. Zeyad Schwen said. 

Sedivy's doctors proposed full removal of the prostate, which he didn't want to do. He got a second opinion, which led him to Dr. Schwen.

Dr. Schwen said Sedivy was a perfect candidate for the Salvage Hifu procedure.

"Salvage Hifu is a promising newer option for people who have had a recurrence in their prostate," Dr. Schwen said.

During the outpatient procedure, doctors direct focused ultrasound waves to heat up the prostate tissue and kill the cancer cells, while keeping the prostate intact.

"[There's] less sexual and urinary side effects as well as a much quicker recovery time," Dr. Schwen said.

That was good news for Sedivy. A month after the procedure, he was well enough to travel to Costa Rica.

"I'm hoping that, that procedure will give me another decade of normal life, to do what I love to do and be with the people I love," Sedivy said.

Unlike traditional Hifu, Salvage Hifu is only for people whose cancer has returned and has not spread outside the prostate.

Sedivy credits his annual screening for catching his cancer early both times. Doctors recommend men begin PSA screenings around age 50.