Woman given ‘second chance’ after UK’s first liver transplant for advanced cancer

A young woman has received a “second chance at life” after undergoing the UK’s first ever liver transplant for advanced bowel cancer.

Bianca Perea refused to accept that prolonging her life was the only option when she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer – which had spread to her liver.

“I don’t want to sound kind of ignorant or arrogant or anything like that, but I just didn’t feel in my gut that that was going to be it,” the 32-year-old trainee lawyer from Manchester said of the moment she heard her poor prognosis.

Following the transplant, targeted drug therapy and chemotherapy, Ms Perea now has no remaining signs of cancer in her body.

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When she first visited her GP in Wigan as a result of constipation and bloating, she was referred to her local hospital, where high levels of blood were discovered in her stool.

Ms Perea was 29 when she was told in November 2021 that she had stage four bowel cancer – the most severe kind – despite the fact she “didn’t have really bad symptoms at all”.

After the colonoscopy, a doctor said her prognosis was not good. “He said, ‘We are looking at prolonging your life rather than a cure’. And I just remember everything slowed down,” Ms Perea told PA.

Although accepting the diagnosis, Ms Perea refused to accept the outlook was so bleak. When her mother asked about a possible transplant, medics said it would not be a feasible treatment.

Ms Perea was referred to Christie NHS Foundation Trust’s local treatment centre in December that year, where she underwent 37 rounds of a targeted drug called panitumumab alongside chemotherapy for two and a half years.

A strong response to the treatment meant she was able to have an operation to remove the bowel tumour in May 2023 – but the tumours in her liver remained and were inoperable.

With the cancer in her bowels having been removed, doctors started looking at liver transplants for the liver tumour. After being added to the transplant list in February 2024, Ms Perea found a donor and had the operation last summer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

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“Within four weeks of going under the knife, I was able to drive and walk the family dogs, it was really quite incredible,” she said. “To go from being told I’d only have a short time to live to now being cancer-free is the greatest gift.

“I’ve been given a second chance at life and I’m going to grab it with both hands. I am so grateful to the family who agreed to donate their loved one’s liver. I do believe this is a cure. They’re always hesitant to say that, obviously, but I am cancer-free right now.”

Dr Kalena Marti, Ms Perea’s oncologist at the Christie, said: “To see that Bianca has had such a positive outcome is wonderful. When we looked at the tumour cells in her liver after it had been removed, they weren’t active.

“This is excellent news, and we hope that this means that the cancer won’t come back.

“Thanks to the generosity of organ donors and their loved ones, we can now access liver transplants for some patients, which is fantastic.”

Dr Ian Rowe, honorary consultant hepatologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are, of course, indebted to the family of the organ donor – as is made clear with Bianca’s case, organ donation saves lives.

“It is important that people register their decision to donate on the NHS organ donor register and make their decision known to their loved ones. Families will always be consulted on any decisions around organ donation.”

Ms Perea is looking forward to going on holiday this year and is working on improving her fitness.

“My liver is doing really well,” she said. “I get tests on that, and I’ve just had my second scan and that’s all clear, so it’s really good.”