Man who was dying from inoperable cancer will make history by having multi-organ transplant surgery for a SECOND time in bid to save his life

• Adam Alderson, 43, first entered medical textbooks in 2015

A man who was told he was dying from inoperable cancer is set to make history by undergoing a second organ transplant for the second time in a bid to beat the disease.

Adam Alderson, 43, first entered medical textbooks in 2015 when surgeons removed a massive tumor and transplanted six organs from a single donor to save his life after other doctors told him that nothing more could be done.

He begged surgeons to attempt this pioneering operation, which involved removing his stomach, small and large intestines, pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, appendix, most of his liver and abdominal wall .

Mr Alderson’s operation was one of only a handful of such operations to be carried out in the UK. At the time, there were no known living survivors of the procedure.

He is now set to make history again as he prepares for another multiple transplant to replace seven of his organs after doctors discovered his extremely rare cancer had returned.

Mr Alderson, who lives with his wife Laura in Preston-under-Scar, North Yorkshire, said: “This has never been done before in the UK where anyone has had two transplants like this for this disease. It’s incredible.’

Surgeon Brendan Moran, who was part of a team of 30 who carried out his first operation, said: “This is a very rare cancer and is usually only diagnosed at an advanced stage, which makes it difficult to treat.

“We have treated around 18 cases so far in the UK, and Adam is the oldest surviving patient.”

“We have never performed two transplants of this type on the same patient. Adam is incredibly resilient, he’s young and fit, but it’s a very difficult operation to go through.

Mr. Alderson had been misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome before discovering he had pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare cancer that usually begins as a small growth, or polyp, in the appendix.

By the time such tumors are detected and diagnosed, the disease is often well advanced.

When specialists tried to remove Mr. Alderson’s tumor, they found that the cancer had spread too far.

“They said they were sorry, but there was nothing they could do,” he said. “They disconnected my bowel, gave me a bag and a feeding tube and sent me home to palliative care with at best two years to live.”

After chemotherapy, Mr Alderson refused to give up, even when he was told he was nearing the end.

He begged Mr Moran, who agreed to treat him. Once a donor has been found,

Mr Alderson underwent an 18-hour operation at Churchill Hospital in Oxford. His recovery went so well that he and Laura dedicated themselves to raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

But last month a scan showed the cancer had returned and doctors suggested another multiple transplant, replacing the same six organs as well as his liver.

“They will consider doing the transplant in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. “It’s a very slow growing cancer, so this will definitely buy me more time.” I feel very lucky to still be here – I have to thank Mr Moran and his team for that.