A woman who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given months to live has been cured thanks to a groundbreaking lung transplant.
Tannaz Ameli, 64, is a retired nurse from Minneapolis. After battling a persistent cough for several months, doctors did an X-ray and diagnosed her with pneumonia.
Unfortunately, despite undergoing treatment for pneumonia, her condition didn't get better and she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in January 2022, as reported by CNN.
In a video released by Northwestern Medicine, Ameli stated: "There was no hope for my life at that point. They gave me […] three months."
After undergoing unsuccessful chemotherapy treatment, the 64-year-old was told that she should consider end-of-life hospice care.
Her husband refused to give up on her and reached out to North Western Medicine about the possibility of a transplant, and was delighted when they found that she fit their criteria.
Ameli had a double lung transplant and following the procedure, she was told that she was cancer free.
"Am I dreaming, sitting here? Can it happen?’ And it did happen," Ameli said after it was revealed that she had no further complications and has a new lease on life.
"Every morning when I open my eyes, I just can’t believe it. Life has a different meaning now," Ameli concluded.
The American Cancer Society estimates that over 127,000 Americans will pass away due to lung cancer this year, meaning that the possibility of lung transplants saving lives is groundbreaking.
There are special requirements that someone must meet before undergoing a potentially life-saving lung transplant. These include the cancer being contained within the lungs, and all other avenues of treatment already having been attempted.
In 2020, 54-year-old Albert Khoury of Chicago began to have back pain mixed with sneezing and coughing up blood, but due to it being at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, he believed that he had the virus.
According to Northwestern Medicine, Khoury was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer but didn't receive treatment until July 2020 due to the pandemic putting a strain on healthcare services.
By this time Khoury's cancer had progressed to stage two, and he was shortly informed that he had stage four lung cancer and told to consider end-of-life care.
"I had a couple of weeks to live," Khoury told Northwestern Medicine. "Not that much time."
Knowing that a double lung transplant was his only hope at survival, his sister reached out to Northwestern Medicine, and after being first informed that he should try other avenues, he was diagnosed with sepsis and pneumonia.
As his health declined, Dr. Young Chae, a medical oncologist at Northwestern Medicine who helped treat Khoury began considering the procedure as he stated: "His lungs were filled with cancer cells, and day by day, his oxygen was dropping."
During the procedure "surgeons had to be extremely meticulous to not let trillions of cancer cells from the old lungs spill out into Khoury’s chest cavity or into his bloodstream," Northwestern Medicine said.
Now, 18 months after undergoing surgery, Khoury is cancer free with no complications and has gone back to work.
Despite these amazing success stories, there is always a risk that cancer could return in late-stage patients.
We wish Ameli and Khoury all the best after their procedures.
