Four patients speak about their experiences with focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor, painful bone tumors, uterine fibroids, and Parkinson’s disease. Also learn more about how the technology works, and hear from experts in the field.

John suffers from both Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS). While he reports his MS is under control, the tremors caused by the Parkinson’s had significantly diminished his quality of life. Watch behind-the-scenes footage from his ‘miracle’ focused ultrasound treatment.

Multiple surgeries and pain medications provided no relief for Terri’s neuropathic pain. Then she found a focused ultrasound trial at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Dheeraj Ghandi, MD, and the Maryland team successfully treated Terri’s pain with focused ultrasound in the fall of 2020.

Julia is able to return to her hobbies like needlework and painting after focused ultrasound treatment stilled her essential tremors. This video sharing her story was produced in conjunction with the Consumer Technology Association’s Let’s Go Humans campaign.

Jack suffered from a benign but painful bone tumor called an Osteoid Osteoma that kept him from living an active lifestyle. He was the first pediatric patient in North America to have focused ultrasound treatment, and he’s back to playing the sports he loves.

Kimberly suffers from Parkinson’s disease and had to switch to riding a stationary bike because the shaking made her unstable. She took part in a focused ultrasound clinical trial, and now she’s back to hiking and biking.

Hear from Kimberly

Rick has essential tremor, a benign tremor that commonly affects one’s hands. He has suffered all his life with tremors that leave him embarrassed in public and unable to complete everyday tasks. After undergoing focused ultrasound treatment, his hands are still for the first time in his life.

Della suffered from an Osteoid Osteoma, a benign but painful bone tumor. Seeking relief, she took part in a clinical trial for focused ultrasound treatment.

Elizabeth suffered from uterine fibroids, so much so that it was affecting her ability to work and even leave the house. After focused ultrasound treatment, she’s back to meeting with clients and on the go.

Peter suffered from tremors since his teenage years. As his symptoms worsened and the uncontrollable shaking made everyday tasks like eating, drinking and dressing nearly impossible, he turned to focused ultrasound.

Jodi suffered with essential tremor for nearly 20 years, and it took a toll on her career and her duties as a mom. After being treated with focused ultrasound, she is able to cuddle her children and hopes to give comfort and hope to others.

Hear from Jodi

Tom received focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor in his dominant left hand in 2019. A year later, he participated in a clinical trial for bilateral treatment and underwent a second procedure to address the tremor in his non-dominant hand. Tom and his brother Phil talk about their experience with focused ultrasound.

Reed was living a busy life in Kentucky as a television meteorologist and helicopter pilot when he says his world suddenly changed. After a routine annual physical revealed his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level had increased, a urologist confirmed one of his worst fears: he had prostate cancer.

Mark and his sister Muffin spent years watching their mother’s quality of life deteriorate as her tremor progressed to where she had great difficulty feeding herself. And then both of them felt their own tremor progressing and sought relief.

A 40-year old mother of two with symptomatic uterine fibroids was treated in August 2016 by Dr. Suzanne LeBlang at her clinic in Boca Raton, Florida. The Focused Ultrasound Foundation interviewed her to learn more about her experience with fibroids and how the treatment dramatically improved her symptoms and her life.

The Michigan artist was forced to stop her creative pursuits once it became nearly impossible to work with her hands. After 50 years of dealing with the tremors, Sunny received focused ultrasound treatment at Ohio State Medical Center, and now she’s back to drawing and painting.

Diagnosed at age 25, Steve’s Parkinson’s symptoms were affecting his career and keeping him from the outdoor activities he loved. Then, social media – and a little digging – led him to focused ultrasound. Now he and his family hit the road in support of Team Fox.

Read More About Steve

John Pizzi was an active, athletic boy excelling in both soccer and baseball when, at age 11, his mother says he started experiencing severe, persistent pain in one of his legs. Scans showed that John had a rare, benign tumor called an osteoid osteoma, so the family decided to take part in a focused ultrasound clinical trial.

For most people, gaining 25 pounds over the course of a year is not cause to celebrate. But Ron Nickelson sees the change as tangible evidence of how far he has come since he was the second patient treated at The Ohio State University Wexler Medical Center in a clinical trial investigating focused ultrasound for Parkinson’s dyskinesia.

For Tammy, the hip pain started in 2010. She tried medications, surgeries, and nerve stimulator implants, but nothing alleviated her symptoms. Faced with an expensive radiation therapy, Tammy researched other options and stumbled upon the focused ultrasound trial at the University of Maryland. In September, she became the first patient to be treated there.

NASA safety engineer, Victor Murray, took a pragmatic approach to his prostate cancer diagnosis and found focused ultrasound therapy to be the answer.

In 2017, Jeffrey Kotas became the first person in North America to participate in a clinical trial investigating the safety of using focused ultrasound to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Sivi Krishnan traveled internationally to receive focused ultrasound treatment for his essential tremor in 2013.

Bob Dienst is a man of many talents, but essential tremor sidelined him from his hobbies. That is, until his ‘life-changing’ focused ultrasound treatment.

Beverly is a family nurse practitioner who researched treatments for essential tremor, learned about focused ultrasound, and then traveled more than 1,000 miles for the therapy.

A benign tumor forced Harrison to give up his favorite sport, but focused ultrasound treatment and a passionate doctor led the teen to great personal growth.

Perry Payne Millner tirelessly advocated for her father, Dan Payne, to ensure that his private insurance would pay for focused ultrasound treatment of his essential tremor.

After first noticing symptoms in 2017, Rich Nagy underwent focused ultrasound therapy for Parkinson’s disease in 2020. He has since been able to resume his hobbies, including playing the violin and boxing.

In March, Barbara was diagnosed with an aggressive malignant brain tumor called a glioblastoma. She was the first patient to be treated in a focused ultrasound clinical trial at the University of Virginia.

After a decade of active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer, Michael was urged to undergo radical prostatectomy but chose focused ultrasound instead.

Chuck’s Parkinson’s disease symptoms disrupted his personal and professional life until he participated in a focused ultrasound clinical trial.

At age 74, Paul Lyman sold his Cessna 182 airplane after deciding to seek treatment for his essential tremor symptoms. In April 2022, he traveled 400 miles to have focused ultrasound treatment at the University of Utah.

Kristina is a 39-year-old supply chain director, wife, and mother to a 5-year-old son. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 and is enrolled in an ongoing focused ultrasound clinical trial.

Gabsoo Han, who lives in Korea, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 68. He recently shared his experience participating in a focused ultrasound clinical trial at Seoul National University Hospital.

Tom Ryder is a retired corporate executive who underwent focused ultrasound for his essential tremor in 2021. After a successful treatment, he became a Foundation donor and joined the Board of Directors.

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.

Michael Werner is a healthcare attorney in Washington, DC, who has dealt with essential tremor most of his life. He shares his path to finding focused ultrasound, his “remarkable” results, and how he is helping to raise awareness.