After her colon cancer returned, Mandy Wilk had few options for survival.
The disease had already spread to her liver when she was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in 2017. She tried every treatment available. But after her younger brother received a liver transplant in 2020, the cancer returned six months later, this time spreading to her lungs.
At that point, “I traveled to almost every major health system across the country, and they all told me there was nothing more they could do,” Wilk told reporters during a news conference Wednesday at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital.
That's when the 42-year-old learned about Northwestern's Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care Program, also called DREAM. The initiative is the only one in the country that offers lung transplants to cancer patients who have run out of treatment options, according to Northwestern Medicine.
Wilk received a new set of lungs June 3 at Northwestern, the first of its kind at the hospital and likely the first in the world.
“Mandy’s determination knew no bounds,” said Dr. Katherine Myers, one of Wilk's doctors and a lung transplant specialist at Northwestern University. “When other hospitals told her there was nothing they could do, she didn't really take 'no' for an answer. Instead, she became part of medical history.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in men and women. Increasingly, patients under the age of 50 are being diagnosed with the disease. When colorectal cancer metastasizes, it usually spreads to the liver or lungs. Cancers that start in or spread to the lungs account for most cancer-related deaths in the United States
Mandy Wilke listens as Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, speaks to reporters Wednesday at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital.
Tyler Basiak Larivière/Sun-Times
Wilke has no signs of cancer in her body and does not need further cancer treatments. An avid runner, she recently got the green light from her pulmonologist to start running again.
“There is no other hospital that would give me an opportunity like this,” Wilk said.
“During the surgery, we were able to precisely remove the cancerous lungs without allowing any cancer cells to seep into the bloodstream and then implant the new lungs,” said Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of the department of thoracic surgery and director of the department of thoracic surgery. Northwestern Medicine Canning Chest Institute.
“I want to express cautious optimism,” Bharat said, adding that Wilk will continue to monitor her closely to determine the long-term effects of her surgery. “But it definitely gives hope to many patients who don't have any other options.”
Terrance Jones, a local artist and administrative assistant on Northwestern Medicine's pulmonology team, hugs Mandy Wilk after unveiling and dedicating a piece of art to her Wednesday during a news conference at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital.
Tyler Basiak Larivière/Sun-Times
Welk has Chicago connections. She grew up in the northern suburbs of Lake Zurich, and her husband was a television producer for the White Sox. Wilke works as an elementary curriculum and instruction specialist. The couple divides their time between Chicago and Minnesota.
Her goal is to finally complete the Chicago Marathon with her new pair of lungs.
