A mother of twins was saved.
Cornelia Tischmacher, a 40-year-old mother of twins from Berlin, was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer in early 2018, just months after experiencing persistent pneumonia. Despite being a non-smoker and leading an active life as an art historian and gallery owner, the diagnosis came as a devastating surprise. Determined to survive for the sake of her children, Tischmacher began an aggressive treatment journey, including surgery and chemotherapy. However, by 2019, the cancer had returned and progressed to stage 4, leaving her dependent on oxygen and facing limited medical options.
In December 2024, Tischmacher traveled to the United States after learning about the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. This unique initiative offers double-lung transplants to select patients whose lung cancer has not spread beyond the lungs. With her condition rapidly deteriorating and needing up to 60 liters of oxygen per minute, she was placed on the transplant list immediately upon arrival. Just two days later, she received a life-saving double-lung transplant—the only potential cure for her condition at that stage.
The surgery, led by Dr. Ankit Bharat, involved carefully removing both diseased lungs and meticulously cleaning the chest cavity to prevent any residual cancer cells from remaining. This complex procedure is part of a broader effort by Northwestern Medicine to treat lung-limited cancers through transplantation. Since launching the DREAM program, the institution has performed over 50 such transplants for patients around the world, and Tischmacher became the first from Germany to benefit from it.
Following a successful recovery, Tischmacher now lives in Chicago to remain close to her medical team. Her husband and children stayed in Berlin for schooling but visited her in April, reuniting after months of separation. Tischmacher, now cancer-free, has resumed enjoying life without the aid of an oxygen tank, exploring museums and galleries. Her story highlights a growing trend in lung cancer cases among non-smoking women, prompting Northwestern to advocate for broader cancer screening programs. The hospital has also launched a universal lung screening initiative to detect early-stage disease in more people, regardless of their smoking history or insurance coverage.
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