B.C. man fights to bring tumor-‘deleting’ cancer treatment to Canada

A B.C. man battling cancer is asking why an innovative new treatment isn’t available in Canada.

Ron Haufler was diagnosed in 2021 with colon cancer that has spread to his liver. After three years of treatment, he says his tumours have become resistant to chemotherapy.

“They basically said, ‘You have a couple years,’ and that’s it,” he said.

That might not be the case. A new treatment available in the United States could help save his life.

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The ultrasonic process is called histotripsy and uses sound waves to create targeted “bubble clouds” and eliminate tumours inside an organ.

It does not require an incision, has no side effects and a short recovery time.

“It’s a very, very nice technology that’s non-invasive,”

“It can create a focal point and just destroy that one area and basically delete the solid tumour right where it sits, and turns it into liquid and the body just passes it and heals up.”

Histotripsy was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2023, but isn’t available in Canada.

Haufler is now fundraising for the more than $100,000 the procedure is expected to cost at a Seattle’s Providence Swedish instead.

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He said he was frustrated to learn his cancer specialists appeared to not even know about the procedure.

And he questioned why B.C. has not been proactive about acquiring the technology.

“It sounds ridiculous, because why wouldn’t our medical system simply purchase the equipment and bring it up for use here and start saving lives?” he said.

“There’s many people with all kinds of liver tumours and so on that could be saved today, instead of treating it with chemotherapy or radiation which causes all kinds of damage.”

Global News is seeking comment from B.C.’s Ministry of Health.

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In the meantime, Haufler is working with doctors at the Seattle hospital to prepare for the possibility of receiving the histotripsy procedure.

He’s also got his hands full trying to raise enough money to pay for it.

But he says he’s hoping going public with his fight could benefit others in B.C.

“I am looking to bring this technology here as quickly as possible and create as much awareness as possible that this does exist so people can start pressuring the government,” he said.