BATON ROUGE - After being denied by his insurance company multiple times, one man decided not to wait for a cancer treatment that could buy him more time or possibly eliminate his cancer. James and Rebecca Corkern are now encouraging others not to give up. 

In January 2021, James Corkern learned he had stage four colorectal cancer. It spread to his liver. He's gone through 46 rounds of chemotherapy. Five times, doctors have treated tumors in his liver. Then their insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield Nebraska, denied the sixth ablation due to an existing nodule in his lung. 

"Nowhere on my medical charts does it say I have lung cancer," said James Corkern.

He started chemo again, but with each round of chemo, he stayed sicker for a longer period of time. Earlier this year, they heard about Histotripsy, a non-invasive procedure that uses ultrasound to destroy cancerous tissue. James Corkern learned he was a candidate, and doctors submitted his paperwork for insurance approval. 

"Within one hour of sending it in, it got denied that fast," said Rebecca Corkern.

Their appeals were denied, too. The Corkerns aren't alone. Some insurers consider Histotripsy "experimental" or "investigational" even when recommended by doctors.

Doctor Philip Boudreax is the Professor of Surgery at LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans and a member of the Rare Cancer Program NOLANETS at East Jefferson Hospital. Boudreaux administers Histotripsy at Omega Hospital in Metarie which has performed at least 60 treatments in the past year.

"There's a lot of data that says this is a good, safe, effective treatment, but I spend the better part of my day arguing with insurance companies," said Boudreaux.

Boudreaux says Histotripsy is recognized and approved by Medicare and about 50% of insurance companies. The Corkerns are experiencing what it's like to be on the denial side.

"Why are we subjecting him to something that's killing him? He has no quality of life when he's on chemo," said Rebecca Corkern.

It's why the Corkerns decided not to wait. On August 8, James Corkern got the Histotripsy. 

"We talked to other people who had this procedure, and they are cancer-free," said Rebecca Corkern.

The therapy cost $50,000, money they were willing to spend to extend James Corkern's quality of life. 

"How many people died that could have lived if they had the treatment?" said Rebecca Corkern.

They hope that time is now on their side.

Boudreax says that while there are surgeries that eliminate tumors, all of them include collateral damage. He says what's unique about Histotripsy is that in 30% of the patients, there is an "abscopal response." That's when a localized cancer treatment leads to the regression of tumors outside the treatment area, essentially creating a vaccine within the body to fight the cancer and preventing any future tumor from forming. It can also buy more time for people who are waiting for a liver transplant.

While many insurance companies continue to deny Histotripsy, Boudreax says the approval rate is improving. Recently, he had to appear before a judge to speak on behalf of a patient who had been waiting six months for their insurance to approve the treatment. 

"As we get more familiar with this technology, it will be expanded to different sites on the body; right now it's being tested on tumors in the kidney," said Boudreax.

There are Histotripsy trials happening overseas for tumors in the Pancreas, and it could eventually be used as an alternative to amputation by treating bone tumors. 

"It could be a non-invasive treatment for brain tumors; I think this will be one of the main tools in our toolbox for treating a bunch of different types of tumors in different locations," said Boudreax.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Nebraska responded to 2 On Your Side's request for comment and said it's unable to discuss a patient's coverage or benefits in compliance with HIPAA privacy laws.