‘This is the holy grail of cancer therapy.' New device in OC hospital targets cancerous tumors

Doctors in Orange County are hopeful a new ground-breaking device can change cancer therapy as we know it.

The device is said to blast tumor cells with pulsed sound energy, a technology that experts say could be the holy grail in the fight against cancer.

There are only eight devices in the world, and one of them is at Providence Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

When Michael Farris, a father of three, turned 50 years old, he was in the prime of his life. Or so he thought.

After celebrating his birthday in Mammoth with his domestic partner, Stefanie, Farris decided to schedule a routine exam.

"I was an active cyclist, road rider," said Farris. "I'd ride at least a hundred miles a week, three to four days a week."

"So, I turned 50 at the end of 2022," said Farris, "January 2023, time to schedule my 50-year-old colonoscopy"

The result was not anything Farris could have imagined.

"During the procedure, they found what they suspected to be a tumor, cancerous tumor," said Farris. "Subsequent CT scan found out that it had metastasized fairly aggressively to the liver."

The scan showed tumors had taken over 90% of Farris' liver. Despite not having cancer in his family and showing little to no symptoms, Farris was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

"So, that hit me like a ton of bricks, and my family," said Farris of his diagnosis. "I have three sons, ages 16 to 21. Yeah, it was a lot to go through."

Dr. Ahmad Abbass, the director of hepatobiliary surgery at Providence Mission Hospital and one of Farris' specialists says they are seeing metastatic cancer in younger patients between 30 to 40 and screening doesn't usually begin until 45.

"In his (Farris) case, he had multiple areas of the liver that had really made surgery not feasible," said Abbass.

Chemotherapy did help to prevent any new tumors from forming, but it was just several weeks ago that Farris was treated with a HistoSonics Edison system, a new device that essentially blasts tumor cells. Because he is young and doctors could not operate, they thought Farris could be a good candidate for this new technology.

"You can think about it similar to maybe lithotripsy on a kidney stone or something like that," said Dr. Kevin Burns, Chief of Interventional Radiology at Providence Mission Hospital. He also performed Farris' procedure.

"They basically get pulverized. Basically, a mechanical force that is disrupting all the cells and think about all the cells liquifying or exploding," said Burns.

The machine at the hospital's Leonard Cancer Institute is only one of eight in the world. Farris is one of the first patients to receive treatment for one of his tumors. Doctors hope to see that tumor shrink, and they’re also hoping the technology helps to treat his many other tumors.

The body can learn how to kill the tumor, cause regression or shrinking of tumors outside of the not even being treated," said Burns. "This is the holy grail of cancer therapy."

Farris knows his cancer therapy is part of a long journey and urges everyone to get screened for colon cancer, early.

"My hope for myself, is just, live as long as I can and enjoy my sons, you know?" said Farris. "Eventually it will probably catch up to me, but in the meantime, I feel good. Days are long, time is short, I want to just enjoy everyday."