After her colon cancer returned, Mandy Wilk was left with few options to stay alive.
When she was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2017, it had already spread to her liver. She tried every available treatment. However, after receiving a liver transplant from his brother in 2020, the cancer returned six months later, this time metastasizing to his lungs.
At that point, “I went to almost every major health system in the country, and they all said there was nothing more that could be done,” she said Wednesday at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital. Wilke told reporters at a press conference.
That's when the 42-year-old learned about Northwestern University's Bilateral Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care Program, also known as DREAM. Northwestern Medicine says this initiative is the only one in the country to provide lung transplants to cancer patients who have run out of treatment options.
Wilk received a new lung transplant at Northwestern Hospital on June 3, a first for the hospital and possibly the first in the world.
“Mandy's determination knows no bounds,” said Dr. Katherine Myers, one of Wilk's doctors and a lung transplant pulmonologist at Northwestern University. “When other hospitals told her there was nothing more they could do for her, she never took 'no' for an answer. Instead, she became part of the medical history.”
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women. Patients under the age of 50 are increasingly being diagnosed with this disease. When colorectal cancer spreads, it usually spreads to the liver or lungs. Most cancer-related deaths in the United States are caused by cancer that begins in or spreads to the lungs.
There are no signs of cancer in Wilk's body and no further cancer treatment is required. An avid runner, she recently received clearance from her pulmonologist to resume running.
“No other hospital would give me this opportunity,” Wilk said.
“During the surgery, we were able to carefully remove the cancerous lung and transplant a new lung without leaking cancer cells into the bloodstream,” said Director of Thoracic Surgery and Director of the Hospital. said Dr. Ankit Bharat. Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute.
“I would like to express cautious optimism,” Bharat said, adding that Wilk will continue to be closely monitored to determine the long-term effects of the surgery. “But it certainly gives hope to many patients who have no other options.”
Terrence Jones, a local artist and administrative assistant on the Pulmonology team at Northwestern Medical University, presented his artwork to Mandy Wilke during a press conference Wednesday at Northwestern Medical School Prentice Women's Hospital. After giving her the gift, I hugged her.
Tyler Pasiak Lariviere/Sun-Times
Wilk has ties to Chicago. She grew up in the northern suburbs of Lake Zurich, and her husband is a television producer for the White Sox. Wilke works as an elementary school curriculum and instruction specialist. The couple splits their time between Chicago and Minnesota.
Her goal is to eventually use her new lungs to complete the Chicago Marathon.
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