Dying man gives up eight organs to defeat cancer
A MAN told he was dying from an inoperable cancer has made an astonishing recovery after surgery to remove a massive tumour and eight of his organs, before multiple abdominal organs were transplanted into him.
Adam Alderson, 37, is thought to be only the fourth person in Britain to survive this kind of multiple-organ transplant.
Surgeons removed his stomach, small bowel, large bowel, pancreas, spleen, gall bladder, appendix, most of his liver and abdominal wall, along with the tumour weighing nearly 10 kilograms.
Since the surgery, Alderson has made an incredible recovery and 18 months later is planning his wedding to Laura Blanchard, 36, as well as a massive rally drive for charity.
He said: “I really cannot thank the medical team enough. They believed in me and they took a risk, a big risk, but it has paid off.”
A tree surgeon from Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, Alderson had suffered bowel problems for years and was misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. But after he and his girlfriend started a new life in Australia in 2011, he discovered that he had pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), a rare form of cancer that usually starts in the appendix.
“The diagnosis came out of nowhere. I just collapsed. It’s the old cliché – it’s never going to happen to me,” he said.
He returned to the UK for an operation to remove the tumour.
“The surgeons said the operation was too dangerous and as a result there was nothing more they could do,” he said. Refusing to accept his death sentence, he began researching his condition and he found out about Brendan Moran, a specialist from Hampshire, and sought a second opinion.
Moran agreed that standard surgery wasn’t possible. But he suggested an alternative, highlighting the case of rugby player Steve Prescott, who also had PMP and underwent a multiple-organ transplant before dying weeks later after his body rejected one of the transplant organs.
Alderson agreed to the risky treatment immediately. He said: “I was dying. My girlfriend could see it… I was very aware how little time I had left. This was my last chance.”
Told he had to put on weight and improve his health before he could undergo the surgery, he got himself into the best shape he could.
Just 48 hours after being deemed fit enough for the operation, he received a 2am call to say a donor had been found and was taken to Oxford for the surgery.
Now life couldn’t be better for him. He said: “I’m 18 months down the line, I’m all clear on all my scans and my bloods are good. My life is great, I am back to work full time.”