Navigating a rare cancer diagnosis, one stitch at a time

At 76 years old, Rachel (name changed for privacy) has weathered more than her share of health challenges. She’s faced neuroendocrine cancer, a broken hip and even ongoing COVID-related complications. But through it all, one doctor stood out: Eric Liu, MD, a board-certified general surgeon at HCA HealthONE, who specializes in neuroendocrine tumors and leads the way in innovative treatments like histotripsy.

“I was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in 2021,” Rachel said. “I began seeing a general oncologist in my area who has been wonderful — he’s managed my care and continues to do so. But, because neuroendocrine cancer is so rare, he recommended that I also see someone with more specialized expertise.”

Rachel lives in Albuquerque, N.M. While the city has many excellent cancer specialists, neuroendocrine cancer is so rare that no local doctors focus on it. She chose to travel to Denver, partly because one of her daughters lives nearby, and because it offered access to more specialized care.

“I didn’t actually know anything about Dr. Liu’s reputation before meeting him,” she said. “But I’m so glad I did go to him. From the very first appointment, he was wonderful — he explained everything and made me feel like I was in good hands. My daughter, who has a medical background, came with me, and we both thought he was amazing.”

Dr. Liu performed a complex liver surgery, removing around 20 tumors. The liver, he explained, was the most critical area to treat. “He told me, ‘The others won’t kill you, but the liver will,’” Rachel said. “So we focused on that.”

Rachel spent 10 days in the hospital after surgery and another week recovering at her daughter’s home. But even as she began to regain her strength, she suffered another major setback: a broken hip that required one additional surgery out of state in Kansas. On top of that, she was later diagnosed with emphysema, likely stemming from her previous COVID infection — despite never having smoked a day in her life.

Even with her growing list of health challenges, Rachel remained hopeful and curious when Dr. Liu introduced a new treatment: histotripsy, a noninvasive, ultrasound-based procedure that destroys tumors without harming surrounding tissue. Histotripsy uses high-intensity sound waves to destroy unwanted tissue in the liver. This procedure is non-invasive, which means it does not require incisions, needles or anything to be inserted through the skin to treat the targeted liver tissue.

“When Dr. Liu explained histotripsy to me, he was upfront that it was a relatively new and advanced treatment,” Rachel said. “But I trusted him completely. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable moving forward with something like that unless it was with a doctor like Dr. Liu.”

Rachel underwent histotripsy in May 2025. The experience, she said, was dramatically different from open surgery.

“I had the procedure on a Wednesday, was out of the hospital by noon on Friday, and then a friend and I — well, mostly my friend — drove back to Albuquerque that same day. It was night and day compared to my surgery,” she said. “Ten days in the hospital versus two. It was a huge difference.”

Though she still experiences fatigue and knows there are more tumors remaining, Rachel said that she’s hopeful about having additional histotripsy treatments in the future. “It didn’t solve everything, but it helped. And it’s something we can do again — maybe even destroy a few more tumors next time.”

The road hasn’t been easy, but Rachel has found ways to stay engaged. “I like to make quilts — right now, I’m focusing on baby quilts. They’re easier to manage with the long COVID symptoms I’m dealing with. I set a goal to make one every month starting in 2024, and I’m still making at least one a month — and I expect to for the rest of my life.”

If she could speak directly to another patient considering histotripsy, her message would be clear: “It’s a huge improvement over traditional surgery. The recovery is faster, it’s less invasive and it gave me hope.”

Dr. Liu remains one of the top doctors in the Rocky Mountain region offering histotripsy, an exciting advancement in cancer treatment that uses focused sound waves to destroy liver tumors while sparing healthy tissue.

“Maybe I’ll live a little longer because of it,” Rachel said. “And maybe I’ll feel OK in the meantime. That’s really what’s important.”