Key Points
- Dr. Ken Dychtwald is a psychologist, gerontologist, best-selling author, and public speaker.
- He shares how he was blindsided by his prostate cancer diagnosis and why he chose focused ultrasound.
Dr. Ken Dychtwald is a psychologist, gerontologist, best-selling author of 19 books on aging, and a public speaker. He was also the executive producer and host of the acclaimed PBS documentary, The Boomer Century, as well as the public television special, Life’s Third Age, and more recently, Sages of Aging. He is the Founder and CEO of Age Wave, an acclaimed think tank on the social and business implications of global aging and rising longevity. He was also a featured speaker at two White House conferences on aging. Ken has been an outspoken supporter of focused ultrasound, but after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, his advocacy for the technology became personal.
You have dedicated your life to studying gerontology. Tell us more about that.
Fifty years ago, I was asked to co-found and then lead the Sage Project, which was the first preventative health research project in America focused on older adults.
I have since dedicated my career to exploring the impact of increasing longevity, declining fertility, and the aging of the baby boom generation—which is living longer than previous generations and is a much larger population of people than previous generations. This “age wave” has never happened before. It presents serious new challenges and vast new opportunities.
I’ve written 19 books, given countless talks to over 2.5 million people, and led research all over the world to determine what becomes of us as more and more of us live longer lives.
As someone who has dedicated their career to investigating the realities of aging, did it come as a shock when you were diagnosed with prostate cancer, or did your research prepare you for the possibility of navigating a medical condition as you aged?
The research did not prepare me for my diagnosis. My first thought was, “This can’t be happening to me.” I think of myself as a fit, youthful guy even though I’ve grown older. It was sobering. I had always felt indestructible, but my diagnosis made me feel a vulnerability I had never experienced before.
When did you first learn about focused ultrasound?
I’ve always been an investigator of new technologies that could help us better match our healthspans to our lifespans, and back in 2021, focused ultrasound was brought to my attention. I thought it was an amazing technology. The ability to pinpoint a single location and use sound beams to eradicate cancer, treat essential tremor, and even potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease, sounded incredible – very Star Trek. I looked into the focused ultrasound–related clinical work being done around the world and thought this was truly a game-changer and began talking about focused ultrasound in my speeches and advisory work.
I also became familiar with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation around that time and was fortunate to share my research on aging and longevity in a 2022 webinar.
Did your prior knowledge of focused ultrasound help you determine it could be part of your treatment for prostate cancer?
After my prostate cancer diagnosis, I wondered whether focused ultrasound had any relevance to me. Dr. Katsuto Shinohara, one of the leading urologic oncologists at the University of California San Francisco, suggested that we did not need to remove the prostate gland and that high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) could be used in my case. My other options were chemotherapy and radiation. I jumped on the opportunity to have HIFU and felt very lucky because 5 or 10 years ago it would not have been available.
What was it like on the day of treatment?
I was scared because I knew things could go wrong, but I was mostly eager to get it behind me. I was wheeled into the room and only under general anesthesia for an hour, but the procedure itself took less than 15 minutes. Afterward, there was no pain involved. I was able to dress myself, walk around, and was told the cancer was no longer there. I got home at 12:30 pm and was back to work at 1:00. Although I was catheterized for a few days, it was not so bad.
How has your prostate cancer diagnosis impacted your research?
My research has become more holistic now that I better understand the data and the emotional implications of dealing with a frightening medical diagnosis. I’m continuing to look into demographic changes, new ventures, business opportunities, and what new technologies are appearing on the scene. But now I am analyzing all this information from the perspective of someone who is growing older. Undergoing a life-saving medical procedure is an experience that has made me wiser.
Has your diagnosis and experience with HIFU treatment impacted you in other ways?
Every month or two, I get together on Zoom with the guys I grew up with and we talk about our lives. When I received my diagnosis, I asked them if they had prostate issues, and every single one of them raised their hands. They either had an enlarged prostate, prostate cancer, or had already had a prostatectomy. This is not a topic that men are comfortable talking about, but I thought we ought to talk about it more openly so we could discuss treatment options. The friends who had been through prostate surgery wished they knew about HIFU before, and those who were currently experiencing prostate health issues immediately went to the Foundation’s website to learn more. There might be thousands or millions of men who are unaware of this extraordinary new procedure, and it can be scary or uncomfortable to talk about your medical journey, but it is helpful to hear from others and share information.
What would you say to others who are considering focused ultrasound treatment?
Anyone with a prostate cancer diagnosis or an enlarged prostate should ask their doctor about the range of treatment options and whether HIFU is right for them. You may be surprised to learn you are a candidate, and if so, it can be a relatively easy, swift, and minimally invasive treatment option that will have you back on your feet in a few days. And since Medicare covered all of the costs, it was also an affordable treatment option. I am so very grateful.
Ken was recently featured on an episode of the Foundation’s podcast, Curing with Sound. Listen Now