The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
A second person has been cured of terminal lung cancer after a rare double lung transplant.
Tannaz Ameli, 64, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has now been declared cancer free after receiving the surgery at Northwestern Medicine in June. She joins Albert Khoury, 54, who successfully received the operation at Northwestern in 2021.
Lung transplants for patients at this stage would usually be a ‘complete ‘no-no’, explained Dr Ankit Bharat, Northwestern’s chief of thoracic surgery, said. But, luckily for Mr Khoury and Ms Ameli, their cancer did not spread beyond their lungs.
This is a rare characteristic for stage 4 lung cancer. It allows the transplant to fully remove the disease, making the pair perfect candidates for the operation.
Lung cancer is one of the leading killers of Americans, with the disease-causing around 120,000 deaths each year. An estimated 240,000 cases will be diagnosed in 2023.
Tannaz Ameli (left) and Albert Khoury (right) are the first two patients to receive double lung transplants at Northwestern Medicine
Mr Khoury received his transplant in September 2021. A non-smoker, he worked as a cement finisher for the Chicago Department of Transportation in early 2020 when he started to suffer back pain, sneezing, chills and coughing up mucus.
He initially thought he had Covid. He knew something worse was occurring when he called his doctor after he began coughing up blood.
Mr Khoury was later diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer, but the pandemic meant he could not immediately start treatment.
Within months, it had grown to stage 2, and despite several rounds of chemotherapy, his cancer continued to worsen, eventually reaching stage 4.
‘Doctors at other health systems told me there was no chance for survival,’ Mr Khoury said.
Then his sister saw a news story about lung transplants being pioneered for Covid patients at Northwestern Medicine and persuaded him to make an appointment.
Mr Khoury’s health was only getting worse when his sister saw a news story about lung transplants being pioneered for Covid patients at Northwestern Medicine and persuaded him to make an appointment.
Meanwhile, the man developed pneumonia and sepsis and was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.
Mr Khoury, a non-smoker, started to suffer back pain, sneezing, chills and coughing up mucus in early 2020
