First-of-its-kind surgery at Northwestern Medicine: Double-lung transplant saves the life of a Minnesota woman with stage 4 colorectal cancer
After an eight-year battle, Mandy Wilk was discharged from the hospital on her 42nd birthday and rang the bell signaling she was cancer-free
CHICAGO – September 25, 2024 – In a pioneering medical breakthrough at Northwestern Medicine, surgeons have successfully performed a double-lung transplant on a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer who had limited time to live. The procedure was achieved through the Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care (DREAM) Program, a first-of-its-kind clinical initiative that was designed for select patients with advanced lung cancers that do not respond to contemporary treatments.
The patient, 42-year-old Amanda “Mandy” Wilk of Savage, Minn., had been battling stage 4 colorectal cancer since 2017, which had initially spread to her liver. After undergoing cancer treatments and receiving a liver transplant from her brother, the cancer returned – this time in her lungs. Facing few options for survival, Wilk sought out the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine.
On June 3, Wilk received new lungs and was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital one week later on June 10 – her 42nd birthday. In a moment she had been waiting eight years for, Wilk rang the bell signaling she had completed cancer treatment. She currently has no signs of cancer in her body and doesn’t require any further cancer therapy.
“This is a first-of-its-kind surgery at Northwestern Medicine where a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer has successfully received a double-lung transplant,” said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “Our surgical team meticulously removed Mandy’s cancer-ridden lungs without allowing any cancerous cells to spill into her bloodstream, and then we transplanted new lungs. Based on all the testing that’s available to us – CT scans, PET scans, and molecular analyses of circulating cancer DNA in Mandy’s blood – we don’t see any remaining signs of cancer in her body. While we’re optimistic about her future, it’s important to approach this with cautious optimism as further research is needed to understand the long-term outcomes.”
I traveled to almost every major health system across the country, and they all told me there was nothing more they could do. I believe in forward-thinking and was not going to take ‘no’ for answer, so when I inquired about the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine, I was ecstatic that they were ready and eager to help me live.
A Journey of Resilience and Innovation
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States, with increasing numbers of people being diagnosed under the age of 50. When it metastasizes, it typically spreads to the liver or lungs, leaving few options for possible survival. Cancers of the lungs or those that travel to the lungs result in the most cancer-related deaths in the U.S.
Originally from Lake Zurich, Ill., Wilk moved to Minnesota where she works with the kindergarten through fifth grade teaching staff of Bloomington as an elementary curriculum and instruction specialist. In her spare time, Wilk enjoys running, the arts and attending sporting events with her partner and brothers.
In 2017, at the age of 34, Wilk thought she had food poisoning, but persistent symptoms led to a diagnosis of stage 4 colorectal cancer that had already spread to the liver. Wilk was given approximately two years to live. Treatments included a partial colon resection, chemotherapy, liver ablations and radiation beads on the liver, before receiving a liver transplant from her younger brother, Adam, in 2020. But six months later, the cancer returned – this time to the lungs.
“I traveled to almost every major health system across the country, and they all told me there was nothing more they could do,” said Wilk. “I believe in forward-thinking and was not going to take ‘no’ for answer, so when I inquired about the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine, I was ecstatic that they were ready and eager to help me live.”
Wilk’s partner, Chris Withers, is a television producer for the Chicago White Sox, so Chicago was already like a second home to the couple. During the offseason, they live in Minnesota, but for Mandy, much of the summer is spent between Minnesota and Chicago. In March 2024, Wilk traveled to Chicago for a lung transplant evaluation and was then listed the day after Memorial Day. On June 3, Wilk received new lungs and one week later, she was doing so well that she was discharged from Northwestern Memorial on June 10 – which happened to be her 42nd birthday.
“Throughout my eight-year journey of battling cancer, the one thing I’ve always wanted to do was ‘ring the bell,’ signaling my completion of cancer treatment,” said Wilk. “Many doctors told me I’d never be able to ring it, so when my lung transplant social worker made it happen on my birthday, there was no greater feeling. I was finally able to celebrate being cancer-free.”
A New Chapter for Patients Facing Terminal Diagnoses
Wilk was recently given the “green light” by her lung transplant pulmonologist to start running again. While she continues to recover in Chicago for the next several months, Wilk can be found walking and jogging along Chicago’s lakefront trail. Her new goal is to one day run a marathon.
“Mandy has flown through the recovery process. Typically, lung transplant patients require several days, if not weeks, in a rehabilitation center, but because Mandy was young and made exercise a priority before transplant, rehab wasn’t needed,” said Catherine Myers, MD, lung transplant pulmonologist with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “When Mandy asked me about being able to run again, I told her to start slow and gradually build up speed. Her determination has no limits, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mandy cross another finish line in the near future. As a runner myself, if Mandy decides to run the Chicago Marathon someday, I would love to run alongside her.”
Giving Back and Inspiring Others
Beyond her medical journey, Wilk is passionate about art and uses the skill to help pay it forward. Four years ago, her brother Adam started Mandy’s Foundation which has raised more than $60,000 for the art therapy program at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Since Mandy’s career has been dedicated to helping children, the goal is to provide positive experiences to children who are hospitalized during cancer treatment.
“I have been given a new gift of life not once, but twice – first with my new liver, and now with my new lungs,” said Wilk. “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, often times you’re treated like a number and not a person, but my team at Northwestern Medicine, from the nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists and even the food service workers, all saw and treated me as Mandy. I hope my story inspires others to continue advocating for themselves.”
About the DREAM Program
The Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute is currently the only clinical site in the nation offering this treatment for lung cancer patients without any options. Using lessons learned from pioneering COVID-19 lung transplantation in the United States, surgeons developed the novel surgical technique to clear the cancer during surgery while minimizing the risk of spread that has plagued prior such attempts at other hospitals.
“Unlike the conventional technique of sequential transplants, this innovative technique involves putting the patient on full heart and lung bypass, delicately taking both cancer-ridden lungs out at the same time along with the lymph nodes, washing the airways and the chest cavity to clear the cancer, and then transplanting new lungs,” said Dr. Bharat. “These patients can have billions of cancer cells in the lungs, so we must be extremely meticulous to not let a single cell spill into the patient’s chest cavity or blood stream. We believe this technique can help reduce the risk of recurrence.”
To date, surgeons have performed more than 40 successful lung transplants for cancer patients under the DREAM program. The outcomes of the program’s patients are being tracked in a research registry also called DREAM.
“While we are encouraged by success stories like Mandy's, it's important to recognize that this is a highly specialized procedure that may not be suitable for all patients with metastatic cancer,” added Dr. Bharat. “Careful evaluation and selection are key to ensuring the best possible outcomes.”
Patients interested in being evaluated for a lung transplant can contact the referral line at 844.639.5864.
For more information about Northwestern Medicine’s lung transplant programs, as well as advanced therapies, visit nm.org.
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Jenny Nowatzke Program Director, Media Relations Northwestern Memorial Hospital Pulmonology and Lung Surgery, Cancer, Infectious Diseases |