COVID-19 attacked one lung, cancer the other. A double transplant saved him
Global News
One lung ravaged by COVID-19, the other damaged by lung cancer — this was the daunting reality facing 56-year-old Arthur Gillespie, a former police captain from Chicago.
One lung ravaged by COVID-19, the other damaged by lung cancer — this was the daunting reality facing 56-year-old Arthur Gillespie, a former police captain from Chicago.
In March 2020, Gillespie found himself hospitalized for 12 days, battling a high fever. This came after he contracted COVID-19 following a visit with his father to see his uncle in a nursing home the month prior.
His father, cousin and uncle died from COVID-19, while Gillespie was hospitalized. During his stay, doctors conducted X-rays of his lungs, revealing an additional concern: something troubling on his right lung.
It turned out to be Stage 1 lung cancer.
“Obviously there’s a silver lining,” Gillespie said. “If it wasn’t for COVID, there’s no telling how long … because there were no symptoms or signs that were presenting themselves that let me know I was in that condition. So I just had to be grateful that it was caught when it was caught.”
In Canada, lung cancer remains the leading cause of death in both men and women, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
Lung cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms in its early stages, and if it does, it often appears as the tumour grows and causes changes in the body, such as a cough or shortness of breath.
After his hospital discharge, Gillespie started chemotherapy treatments and later underwent surgery at a different health system in November 2020, where surgeons removed two-thirds of his right lung. His goal was to improve and return to work, but that never happened.
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