GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — At age 39, Aaron Torres never expected he would be a cancer survivor and a recipient of a full lung transplant.
Treatment for a rare form of testicular cancer left Torres in need of a full lung transplant. Now, he’s an advocate for early detection.
“I’m going to do whatever I can control to give myself the best possible outcome to just live a long fulfilling life after this,” Torres, who is from Highland in southeastern Michigan, said.
The first diagnosis came last year, not long after viewing the house he was planning to buy with his fiancée.
“I got off my motorcycle and my abdomen hurt a little bit. Honestly, I thought it was appendicitis, so we went to the doctors and after some bloodwork found out early July that it was testicular cancer,” Torres said.
By the time he was diagnosed, doctors told him the cancer had spread to his abdomen and lymph nodes. He quickly started chemotherapy.
“We were made aware that one of the drugs, bleomycin, could present some type of lung function problem; however, due to my health, age and overall fitness they weren’t really too worried about it. They were seeing it in 10% or less of their patients,” Torres said.
In early November 2024, doctors had finished treatment, but Torres started to have complications.
“By the 16th, I was (admitted) into the ER over at Royal Oak Beaumont because I had a very hard time breathing,” Torres said.
He was put on a ventilator and doctors determined he needed a full lung transplant.
He was transferred to Corewell Health in Grand Rapids for the procedure, where he eventually became the program’s 400th lung transplant recipient.
“Attempts were made to treat the lung injury. Sometimes we can give steroids or other types of therapy, but it wasn’t getting better and, unfortunately, the lung was essentially destroyed,” said Dr. Reda Girgis, the medical director of the lung transplant program. “He is doing exceptionally well given where he came from. This has been a tremendous outcome. We’re very pleased.”
Now, Torres and his doctors are focused on keeping the lungs healthy and functioning for as long as possible.
“His outlook for five years survival is 80% or better,” Girgis said. “We’re hoping we can get to 10, 20, 25 years.”
Despite the complications Torres has fought through, he is grateful for his doctors and advocates for early detection of testicular cancer.
“If your body feels off, it’s probably your body telling you something is off and go to the doctor. That’s honestly what saved my life,” Torres said.