“I feel great today,” says the first West Michigan cancer patient to receive a new treatment

KENT COUNTY, MI – West Michigan is making advances in cancer treatment thanks to new technology.

University of Michigan Health-West in Wyoming is the first health system in the region to treat a patient with histotripsy, a new cutting-edge noninvasive technology that uses ultrasound energy to precisely destroy liver tumors.

“It’s a new technology. “It has only been available to patients across the country and around the world for several months,” said Dr. Clifford Cho, chief medical officer at UM Health-West and leader of the new histotripsy program.

RELATED: ‘New Life’: First patient receives new non-invasive cancer treatment in West Michigan

On Wednesday, October 9, he introduced 81-year-old Greg Allushuski to the community at a press conference. Since he was diagnosed with liver cancer a year and a half ago, he has endured months of harsh and invasive cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery before this week’s histotripsy treatment.

“We went through testing very quickly last week,” Allushuski said. “I went in feeling good and came out feeling even better. I feel great today, one day later. It’s incredible.”

High-energy, focused ultrasound waves are used to mechanically destroy tumors in an “extraordinarily precise” way, Cho said.

The hospital’s treatment system is manufactured by HistoSonics Inc., a Michigan-based company in Ann Arbor.

Click here to watch a video from the company showing how the mechanism destroys cancerous tissue.

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