‘I can never say thank you enough’: Patient beats lung cancer with double lung transplant
CHICAGO — A first-of-its-kind transplant team at Northwestern Medicine discharged an unforgettable patient Wednesday after successfully performing a double lung transplant.
Penny Muszanowski quickly became known at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the ‘thank you’ notes she wrote to every member of her care team during her stay. Each card featured a drawing of a bee.
Examples of Penny Muszanowski’s ‘doodle bees’ she drew while at Northwestern Memorial. Examples of Penny Muszanowski’s ‘doodle bees’ she drew while at Northwestern Memorial. Examples of Penny Muszanowski’s ‘doodle bees’ she drew while at Northwestern Memorial.
“I doodle, I call it doodle bee therapy — It’s fun!” Muszanowski said. “My bees tell my story.”
Muszanowski and her bees created plenty of buzz during her stay. Dr. Catherine Myers, a transplant pulmonologist at Northwestern Memorial, said Muszanowski was “such a joy” to be around as she went through the hospital’s “Dream Program” — A first-of-its-kind study that performs double lung transplants on patients who otherwise couldn’t receive one.
Muszanowski, 65, needed the transplant for COPD, but when she went in for an evaluation at another health system, they found cancer in her lungs. Historically, patients with advanced lung cancer often can’t receive lung transplants.
“We’re the only center in the country right now considering these patients,” Myers said.
Dr. Myers’ team completed Muszanowski’s double lung transplant on Feb. 17.
“When I got cancer,” Muszanowski said. “I decided I needed to ‘bee’ cancer free.”
And now she is.
“When you get a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer, it’s no longer get your business in order,” Muszanowksi said. “It’s go to Northwestern and get a lung transplant because [they] can save you.”
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“Having patients be really positive and do this well and be this appreciative,” Myers said. “It reminds you what you got into this for and it’s really great.”
That’s why, as Muszanowski was discharged Wednesday, the staff who took care of her returned the favor, giving her handmade cards, prominently featuring the bee.
“I never can say thank you enough,” Muszanowksi said.
Muszanowski will now head to rehab to continue her recovery. The former gymnast says now that she can breathe, her goal is to do a backflip.
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