Dr. Anup Vora is a urologist at Chesapeake Urology Associates in Maryland. He followed his father’s footsteps when he pursued medicine as a career and he loves having a positive impact in the lives of his patients.

Read through the questions and answers below to learn more about Dr. Anup Vora. What to read his complete bio? You can find it here.

1. What was your main motivation in becoming a doctor? When did you decide on this path?

Medicine has been a part of my life since my childhood. My father is a physician and seeing his passion for his patients, day in and day out, inspired and motivated me to pursue medicine.

2. How did you decide on your particular specialty? Why urology?

Urology is a special field. I can treat patients, young and old. I can treat patient medically and surgically. The field embraces new technologies and is on the forefront the most advanced techniques to treat disease. It truly is a joy and my privilege to practice Urology.

3. What is your favorite part about being a physician?

The impact that I have on the patient and their family is the most rewarding aspect of being a doctor. Knowing that I can help someone’s life in even a small way, is worth the sacrifice and worth the long hours and long training to become a doctor.

4. When did you first learn about HIFU as a treatment for prostate cancer?
I first learned of HIFU when I was a urology trainee. As I advanced in my career, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of because of the advantages it provides to patients.

5. When did you become involved in treating patients using HIFU technology?

Once HIFU became FDA approved, we knew we wanted to bring it to our practice. After doing our due diligence, we found an excellent partner in HPS and have been able to bring this technology to our patients.

6. Why did you initially become interested in HIFU as a treatment for prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer can be devastating to patients and their families. We felt that it was important to provide ALL therapeutic options to our patients and we wanted to offer this minimally invasive treatment to our region.

7. What do you typically tell a patient when they are first diagnosed with prostate cancer?

This is a very difficult discussion, as no one wants to hear they have cancer. But it is an important conversation to have and I tell patients who have been diagnosed early, that they have an excellent chance to beat the disease.

8. What different types of treatments do you offer men with localized prostate cancer?

I offer active surveillance, cryotherapy, robotic prostatectomy, brachytherapy and HIFU prostate ablation.

9. In your professional opinion, what are the benefits of HIFU as a treatment for prostate cancer?

HIFU allows for treatment of the cancer with a significantly lower risk of unwanted side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.

10. How do you decide if HIFU is right for a patient?

It depends on many factors, such as prostate size and degree of cancer. Ultimately, I try to align the patient’s wishes with the characteristics of their anatomy and cancer.

11. In general, how quickly do your patients recover after HIFU? What do you tell men to expect?
The recovery is quite quick. Patient’s feel well very soon after the procedure and after a short period with a urinary catheter, they can return to completely normal activities.

12. There are obviously a lot of different treatments for prostate cancer; where do you think HIFU best fits in the prostate cancer landscape?
HIFU is best for patient with low volume cancer who desire therapy but want to minimize the side effects of treatment.

13. In recent years there has been some discussion about over treating prostate cancer and even changing guidelines on when men should start getting regular screening for prostate cancer. What do you tell men?

I agree and follow the AUA Guidelines and recommend prostate cancer screening for my patients. Prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer related death for men in the United States. We should not minimize its risk, in my opinion.

14. When you aren’t practicing medicine what do you like to do?
My family is everything to me. I have a beautiful wife and soon to be two children. We enjoy cooking, visiting new places and football.

Learn more about Dr. Anup Vora and Chesapeake Urology here or read additional HIFU Physician spotlights here!

Dr. Vora offers HIFU to men at Summit Ambulatory Surgical Center – Maple Lawn. You can learn more about the facility here.