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Stage 4 Cancer Survivor Defies Odds, Runs Marathon
27 Mar
Summary
- Diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer at 26, given 20 months to live.
- Survived cancer, bone marrow transplant, heart failure, and stroke.
- Completed a marathon one year after receiving a heart transplant.
In 2000, at age 26, Dr. Dawn Mussallem was diagnosed with Stage 4 aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Doctors gave her a grim prognosis of 20 months to live. Despite the diagnosis, she completed medical school from her hospital bed.
After intensive treatment including chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and radiation, Mussallem became cancer-free in 2001. She went on to graduate medical school with honors in 2004 and later welcomed her daughter.
However, her health challenges continued. She developed severe heart failure, requiring extensive management for nearly two decades. In 2016, she experienced a near-fatal event, collapsing on stage. This led to a stroke and placement on the heart transplant list.
In January 2021, Mussallem received a heart transplant. She dedicated herself to recovery, aiming to run a marathon within a year of the procedure. By February 2022, she successfully completed the DONNA Breast Cancer Marathon.
