Dr. Gary Gibbon, a 69-year-old pulmonologist from Santa Monica, California, found himself facing a dire situation when he was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer with no significant prior medical issues. Despite undergoing traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, Gibbon was left with no options but palliative hospice care.

However, Gibbon remembered reading about Northwestern Medicine’s innovative DREAM Program in Chicago, which had successfully performed double lung transplants on late-stage lung cancer patients. Desperate for a chance at life, he reached out to the program for help.

The DREAM Program, which has been pioneering novel lung transplant approaches for advanced lung cancer patients since 2021, had successfully completed more than 30 surgeries. Gibbon, who required a triple transplant of two lungs and a liver due to complications from previous cancer treatments, faced numerous challenges in determining his eligibility and the logistics for such a complex surgery.

Luckily, just four days after Gibbon’s arrival in Chicago, a matching set of lungs and a liver became available, allowing for the life-saving surgery to proceed. Despite the procedure typically taking 14 hours, the skilled team at Northwestern Medicine completed it in just 10 hours thanks to innovative technology and expertise.

Six months post-surgery, Gibbon is now cancer-free and on the road to recovery. The medical team at Northwestern Medicine emphasized the significance of having a skilled and experienced team in performing complex surgeries like Gibbon’s, believing that more transplant centers will soon be adopting similar procedures.

Gibbon’s wife credits a news report for ultimately saving her husband’s life, underscoring the critical role of media in connecting patients with life-saving treatments. As Gibbon continues his journey to health, his story serves as a beacon of hope for others facing similar challenges.