K47 -- November 2010 -- Young Man's Transplant

Intro: When you're in your 20s, life is supposed to be an adventure. New experiences, meeting new people, seeing new places. You're not supposed to worry, "Will I live to see tomorrow?" That's what a young man named Trevor faced when he got sick, very sick, while traveling in Mexico. When he got back to the U.S., doctors at Mayo Clinic told him he'd need a transplant. That began a journey he never expected.

"Just the freedom of it. I like just being out in the open air. It really helps to clear my mind."

For the last few years, Trevor Bougill has had to face thoughts most 23-year-olds can't even imagine.

"It's very sobering when you're forced to confront your mortality."

Trevor was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or cancer of the bile duct. It's a tough cancer to treat because it's hard to reach, and it can spread quickly. In the past, doctors couldn't do much for these patients.

"Then in the early 1990s at Mayo Clinic, they developed a protocol for treating patients with bile duct cancer in a very unique way."

Dr. Denise Harnois says the bile duct is the main plumbing system of the liver. The Mayo treatment involves these steps: chemotherapy, radiation, then liver transplantation.

"I'd have to have radiation treatment twice a day, and I had an IV chemotherapy pump that I had to carry around with me 24 hours a day for three weeks."

A grueling treatment that ended with a call saying a donor liver was available. Trevor made it.

"I'm feeling good. I think each day it gets better."

Feeling better and continuing the journey of life.

For Medical Edge, I'm Vivien Williams.

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Now that he's healthy, Trevor is in college studying public relations and business, and plans to travel to see the world.

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