Brenda’s Story

A Groundbreaking Liver Cancer Treatment Gives Brenda New Hope

For Brenda Broome, family has always come first. A proud wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of 13, the 73-year-old Sterling Heights resident has spent her life caring for others while enjoying quilting, thrifting and searching yard sales for hidden treasures.

Over the years, one of her greatest treasures has been the unwavering support of her family as she faced a series of serious health challenges, including a stroke, seizures and several cancers — nasopharyngeal, skin and, most recently, liver cancer.

For more than four decades, Brenda has turned to the specialists at Henry Ford Health for trusted care and guidance.

“I like them and have had really good experiences for the conditions I’ve had,” she says.

A new option for liver cancer care

After being diagnosed with liver disease in 2016 and liver cancer in 2025, Brenda learned she was not a candidate for a liver transplant. Despite the difficult news, her care team offered another promising option — an innovative treatment called histotripsy.
“I was told about the histotripsy procedure and that I would be the first one at Henry Ford to have it done,” Brenda says. “After consulting with my family, I agreed to give it a try.”

What histotripsy entails

Henry Ford Health is among the first centers in Michigan to offer histotripsy, a non-invasive procedure recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat both primary and metastatic liver tumors. The treatment uses highly focused ultrasound waves to create tiny bubbles within the tumor, which mechanically break down and destroy the cancer cells without the need for any incisions. 

Nik Kolicaj MD, division chief, Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Henry Ford Health explains Brenda was an ideal candidate for histotripsy because her underlying liver disease made surgery and liver transplantation unsuitable treatment options. “In Brenda's case, we were able to successfully treat and destroy her liver cancer while avoiding the risks and recovery associated with surgery,” he says. “One of the greatest advantages of this technology is that patients can undergo treatment on an outpatient basis and return home the same day. Seeing Brenda do so well after being the first patient to undergo histotripsy at Henry Ford has been incredibly rewarding and highlights the promise of this groundbreaking therapy for patients with liver cancer.”

A smooth recovery and encouraging results

Brenda’s daughter, Michele Robbins, says the outpatient procedure went smoothly and gave the family renewed hope.

“From our perspective, the procedure was fabulous, making a major difference in my mom’s life,” she says. “So far there is no evidence of liver tumors, and she tolerated the procedure really well. We are not only pleased with the outcome, but also the great communication from Dr. Kolicaj and the Henry Ford team. They treated my mom like family, which is what any family hopes for when undergoing treatment.”

Michele adds that her mother has been so encouraged by the experience that she has shared information about the procedure with others, including Brenda’s brother, who lives out of state and later underwent histotripsy treatment for prostate cancer.

“I have spoken up about this procedure to others,” Brenda says. “It was great. I didn’t have to stay in the hospital, they didn’t have to cut me up, and I think it was fabulous.”