77 Dawn Mussallem, D.O. - Cancer Survivor, Heart Transplant Recipient, Marathon Finisher

Dawn Mussallem was in medical school when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Treatment was successful but eventually, Dr. Mussallem, who works at Mayo Clinic in Florida, began experiencing heart failure. She had a defibrillator implanted and went through myriad procedures as she navigated her medical career. As her heart worsened, she was listed for a heart transplant and on Feb. 5, 2021, "the ultimate exchange" occurred – when Dr. Mussallem received a new heart. Just one year later, Dawn also became a marathon finisher. Today, she shares her journey as a physician, mother, wife, daughter, and 20-year cancer survivor turned heart transplant recipient. Episode Resources: Episode Webpage Dawn's Journey from Cancer Survivor to Transplant Recipient Mayo News Network Story on Dawn's Marathon Journey "I Could Never Do That" Website Support Carrie and the Podcast through "Buy Me a Coffee" Theme Music: Your Love by Atch -License: Creative Commons License - Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)