Mom with no symptoms had stage 4 colorectal cancer and rare surgery saved her life

A Los Angeles mother of three says she’s lucky to be alive after a rare procedure left her cancer-free.

Amy Piccioli, a busy CPA, was just 39 years old when she visited the emergency room last year for what she thought was dehydration from a stomach virus.

Instead, a CT scan revealed a mass in the colon and multiple lesions in the liver, leading to a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, despite having no “zero signs.”

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“I had no symptoms,” Piccioli told News Digital. “I’m one of those people who is very diligent about my health and very aware of the changes in my body. So for this to happen without any signs or symptoms was just shocking to me.”

Because the cancer had already spread, he was automatically diagnosed at stage 4.

“I was paralyzed, I couldn’t believe it,” Piccioli said. “You immediately have those feelings of panic and fear.”

In June 2024, Piccioli began undergoing chemotherapy, along with an immunotherapy drug. Just three months later, scans showed that the chemotherapy had shrunk the tumours. He then underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his colon.

An unlikely path

After completing traditional treatments, Piccioli found himself embarking on the path to liver transplantation.

“The cancer was all over my liver,” he shared. “In cases where the cancer is confined to one side of the liver, they can basically remove that part… but in my case, a resection was not a possibility because the cancer was everywhere.”

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Although the chemotherapy was successful, he said, “it was always going to be a ‘hit a mole’ situation, where I would be on systemic chemotherapy for a long period of time, new things would come up, and it would just be this cycle over and over and over again.”

“The chances of completely eradicating the cancer from my liver with chemotherapy alone were very slim. In cases like mine, liver transplant is really the only long-term solution.”

Liver transplantation as part of colorectal cancer treatment is more common in Europe, but is not common in the US.

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“We just didn’t think it would be an option here,” Piccioli said. “It seemed like something that was going to take a lot of effort to achieve.”

However, his California care team soon discovered that Northwestern Medicine in Chicago offers a liver transplant program specifically for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

“When liver metastasis is seen, our medical oncologists, along with our transplant surgeons, begin to create care pathways tailored to the patient,” Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, a transplant surgeon and director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive Transplant Center, told News Digital.

According to doctors, the chances of a successful transplant depend largely on how the patient responds to treatment. In “carefully selected” patients, the five-year survival rate can be 60% to 80%.

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“Response to chemotherapy is a critical factor for liver transplantation in colorectal liver metastases,” Nadig said.

“Demonstrated disease control or response is usually required as it identifies patients whose tumor biology (less aggressive and not spreading rapidly) is favorable enough to warrant transplantation.”

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Searching for a living donor, Piccioli shared the need with family and friends. A lifelong childhood friend, Lauren Prior, was screened and deemed a match.

The transplant was performed in December 2025, making Piccioli the first person at Northwestern to receive a living donor transplant for metastatic colon cancer.

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Today, she and the donor are recovering well.

“The first few weeks were difficult, but by the fourth week I was recovered and could go back to doing normal things in life,” she said. “After two months of inactivity, I started exercising again. Now I’ve been inactive for three months and I feel completely normal. It’s amazing what the body can do.”

Piccioli recently underwent his first post-transplant blood test to look for tumor molecules inside the body, and none were detected. “So I currently have no evidence of illness,” he shared.

He will remain in Chicago for continued monitoring and evaluation until the end of March, when he will return home to Los Angeles.

In the spotlight

Early-onset colorectal cancer is often “silent,” according to Nadig.

“That’s because screening is not done before age 45 and symptoms (such as slow bleeding) are often subtle,” he said. Tumors can also grow in hard-to-detect places, such as the right side of the colon, or with biology that “delays obvious warning signs.”

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Although Piccioli experienced no warning signs, he encourages others to pay attention to any changes in the body that could indicate cancer.

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“Get screened at the recommended ages, follow up and be diligent about your health,” she advised.

“I think a big part of the reason I came to Northwestern and was able to receive this transplant was because I was very diligent about calling the doctors, making the appointments… I think that’s really the most important thing: You have to be the captain of your own ship.”