Utah mother undergoes double lung transplant for Stage 4 cancer after failed treatments
Kelsey Flake, a 39-year-old mother of five from Cedar Hills, Utah, is in Chicago for a double lung transplant to treat Stage 4 cancer confined to her lungs. After chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and a lobectomy failed to stop the disease's progression, she sought care at Northwestern Medicine, the only U.S. facility offering this procedure for cancer patients. Her insurance approved the out-of-network treatment, and she is scheduled for a preparatory surgery before being listed for donor lungs. Flake, who has never smoked, attributes her cancer to a hereditary gene variant shared by several siblings. Her family relies on community support and a GoFundMe campaign to manage expenses during their year-long relocation for treatment.
