The mother of three was told by a colleague that she also needed a living donor liver transplant, so she underwent one.
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Jamie Ball felt pain in his side in November 2021 and thought it was a gallbladder problem, which ultimately led to the discovery of liver and colon cancer.
After almost a month of pain, the now 37-year-old woman reportedly said she “couldn’t take it anymore” and headed to the emergency room for painkillers. today.com.
According to TODAY.com, rather than receiving a prescription for pain, the mother of three received the news that she had stage 4 colon cancer and had a 15% chance of survival. received.
“I was in complete shock because that thought had never even crossed my mind,” she told TODAY.com. “I’m young.”
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Stock image of a patient sitting in a hospital bed and waiting.
After being informed of her diagnosis, she learned that the cancer had spread to her liver. Her doctors gave her a poor prognosis and explained to Ball that she could be a candidate for a liver transplant.
“I thought I could have my liver removed,” she told TODAY.com. cleveland clinic. However, it requires “up to two-thirds of the liver to be removed, as long as the rest of the liver is healthy.”
Unfortunately for Ms Ball, doctors discovered that she had cancer on both sides of her liver, meaning she was no longer eligible for removal. “So my only chance was to really get a living donor,” Ball said.
After the initial diagnosis, she started chemotherapy the following month, receiving a total of 12 rounds of chemotherapy.
Ball said she “reacted really well,” but noted that she was unable to eat, “lost about 75, 80 pounds,” and developed neurological problems. “It was really tough.” (Neuropathy is painful nerve damage caused by chemotherapy. American Cancer Society).
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Shortly after, in early 2022, she underwent a colectomy to remove the remaining cancer in her colon. However, she was still waiting for a liver transplant.
“If I was on the recipient list, I would be at the bottom because my liver was still highly functional,” she explained. Considering her situation, her doctors advised her to look for a living donor. A living donor is a type of transplant in which someone with a compatible organ donates part of their liver to a patient in need. mayo clinic.
Ball shared updates on the search on social media, and many people volunteered, including her sister and co-workers. Ball’s sister was “rejected as a donor,” but her colleague Jennifer was accepted as a match.
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Related: My mother thought night sweats were a symptom of menopause, but they were actually cancer.
Ball and her colleagues proceeded with the surgery in February 2023. “All night long there were thoughts that made her head spin,” she explained to TODAY.com. “We had no idea if the transplant would actually happen.”
Receiving a new liver was Ball’s “only chance at life,” but the surgery was a success and Ball is now cancer-free.
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Dr. Lorenzo Machado, a transplant surgeon at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, who performed Ball’s transplant, said the patient, who has cancer in both the liver and colon and is “on chemotherapy,” has “no more than 10 cases of cancer.” ~20% (5%),” he told TODAY.com. -year survival).
He said if patients receive a transplant, their five-year survival rate could rise to “about 80%.”
“The liver has the potential to regenerate,” Dr. Machado explained. “Deleting the right side does not result in the formation of an entirely new right side. But the left side…will grow and enlarge to meet the patient’s needs.”
Dr. Machado explained that while a transplant “may improve survival rates by three times,” patients must take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their lives.
After the surgery, Ball was in the hospital for a month and didn’t feel normal for another five months. She has now been cancer-free for a year and is celebrating how “amazing” her organ donation was.
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