FATHER-OF-TWO GIVEN MONTHS TO LIVE IS NOW CANCER-FREE
After world-first operation
A father-of-two who was once given a month to live is celebrating being cancer-free after a surgeon carried out a ‘world-first’ operation.
Ivan Dagg, 53, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer after he began losing weight and feeling constantly exhausted in 2013.
His health then gradually got worse when the cancer spread to his liver - and doctors once gave him a six per cent chance of survival with chemotherapy treatment.
The father-of-two, an inspection engineer from Hull, East Yorkshire, underwent several tumour removals and resections, but his health did not improve until last year.
Mr Dagg underwent a high-risk surgery at Spire Leeds Hospital which doctors declared a ‘world-first’ in January 2018.
The ‘brand-new’ liver surgery involved the removal of a tumour encompassing all of the organ’s major blood vessels - which are essential for survival as they drain blood from the liver.
Doctors were only able to remove the tumour, alongside the hepatic veins, because the father-of-two had grown a new vein in his liver after previous surgery.
Now back at work, Mr Dagg said he is looking forward to the future with his family - but admits there are no guarantees for what could happen next. He said: ‘Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the future but I feel very lucky. there could have been a very different outcome.’
Mr Dagg’s pioneering surgery was carried out by Professor Peter Lodge, who described it as ‘very high risk’.
Professor Lodge said: ‘This is a brand-new liver surgery operation, truly a world-first.
‘During Ivan’s three previous operations I had to remove major blood vessels called hepatic veins.