News Article: by Pegasus News wire

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/mar/24/fort-worth-man-gets-lung-transplant/



Saturday, March 24, 2007
Fort Worth man gets lung transplant
By Pegasus News wire


Jarrold Dash, 33, of Fort Worth had been waiting for seven months for a lung transplant. Earlier this month, he finally got the call that there was a match.
As reported by S-T Dash had lung cancer, though he was not a smoker, and while he was waiting there was always the possibility that the cancer could spread. For nearly the past year, he has been living in California, awaiting a lung donor, while his wife and children were staying in their Fort Worth home. On March 6 he received his surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, which went better than expected, and will be able to return to Fort Worth by June or July.

Transplants are extremely rare for people with lung cancer because of the high risk of the disease spreading. According to MedlinePlus "Fighting rejection is an ongoing process. The body's immune system considers the transplanted organ as an invader (much like an infection) and may attack it. To prevent rejection, organ transplant patients must take anti-rejection (immunosuppression) drugs (such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids) that suppress the body's immune response and reduce the chance of rejection." But with careful monitoring and the anti-rejection drugs, Dash is expected to live a long, healthy life.
Posted by Erin