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Discover Ways to Breathe Easier Inova offers comprehensive lung cancer services throughout the continuum of care – from screening and diagnosis, to modern treatment options and through rehabilitation.

Inova Lung Services offers specialized, interdisciplinary teams that understand the needs of patients at all phases of lung disease. From our pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, transplant and thoracic surgeons, to our nursing, clinical care and research teams, through administrative and operational support staff – we are fully committed to providing the best possible care for our patients.

Nothing compares to a personal, first-hand account from one of our lung recipients. We thank our real-life storytellers for their willingness to share their experiences and tell their stories of courage, joy and gratitude. 20 Year Lung Transplant Survivor Colleen Adamson On July 3, 1998, at the age of 29, Colleen Adamson became Inova’s first Cystic Fibrosis patient to receive a double lung transplant, giving her a new lease on life. In July 2018, Colleen reunited with her original care team at Inova to celebrate her miraculous 20-year anniversary.

I am one of the worst golfers in the world, but have always enjoyed the game. My PCP told me that for golf to count as exercise, I would have to use a pull cart. So I did, but found over several years that it was harder to walk the long, uphill fairways. I attributed it to being in poor condition, so I joined a gym. I did pretty well at first but soon found that after each exercise I walked to the water cooler, supposedly for a drink, but actually to catch my breath. In December 2008, I realized that I was probably sick.

My lung transplant journey started back in the early 1980s when I began to notice an inability to breathe normally, and it was taking me longer to recover from shortness of breath. I was within two years of retirement from the Navy when I learned I was the second member of my family to be diagnosed with Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1AD) and that I had lost about 75 percent of my lung function. I was given about five years to live. Alpha-1 is a genetic disease of the liver and lungs, identified in 1963 by a doctor in Sweden.

In 2001, I was diagnosed with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) at a leading hospital on the East Coast. When I asked about a lung transplant they told me I was too old and that I had three years to live. I retired and sold my house in Maryland and moved to Pennsylvania so my wife could be close to her relatives. While visiting a doctor at a local clinic I noticed a sign on a window that read "Pulmonary Rehabilitation." A couple of weeks later I asked my new family doctor what was it all about.