A Northwestern Medicine patient, Batbayar Tserendorj, has marked a significant milestone by completing the 2024 Chicago Marathon after receiving a liver transplant. At 60 years old, Tserendorj, who resides in Round Lake Beach, Illinois, had been on the transplant waitlist for months due to a liver cancer diagnosis likely caused by chronic hepatitis B and D infections.
With the support of his medical team at Northwestern Medicine, Tserendorj decided to train for his first marathon while awaiting a liver match. "Running can improve cardiovascular function, which may support the body’s ability to recover from surgery," said Dr. Juan Carlos Caicedo, a Northwestern Medicine transplant surgeon.
Tserendorj completed the Chicago Marathon on October 8, 2023. Just nineteen days later, he received his liver transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Organ Transplant Center. He considers this day as his second birthday and has remained cancer-free since then.
"Batbayar’s entire medical team could see his drive to run the marathon," said Dr. Amanda Cheung, a Northwestern Medicine transplant hepatologist. "We were happy to support his training and even happier to see him reach his goals."
After recovering from surgery, Tserendorj resumed running with permission from his doctors and successfully finished the 2024 Chicago Marathon on October 13. Reflecting on his journey, he stated: “Like the marathon, my journey with cancer has been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things... Liver transplantation is not a death sentence. It’s a second chance at life.”
Originally from Mongolia—a region with high rates of liver cancer due to prevalent hepatitis infections—Tserendorj's story highlights both personal triumph and broader health challenges faced globally. Each year over 800,000 individuals are diagnosed with liver cancer worldwide; it remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths globally.