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My person is Don Esmore.

However, impossible to play down - despite Prof Esmore's best attempts - is that he has spent the past eight years performing a "24 hours a day, seven days a week" job with serious clouds over his own health. In 2002 he was diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow. A bone marrow transplant followed, as well as a future of uncertainly. "I've probably outlived the statistics a little bit," Prof Esmore said. "I have blood tests every month and probably at some point of time that will return." At the time of his diagnosis, Prof Esmore was "absolutely" told that his days could be numbered. "(I was told) that it's incurable. There's no treatment to cure it," he said. "It's a matter of palliation in various ways. "They said, 'Have all the therapy and stand back and see what happens', and I responded pretty well, and for a long period of time. "Over the years ... the treatment has improved. I had a bit of a breakthrough a couple of years ago." Though continually beating the odds at his monthly checkups, Prof Esmore is still suffering consequences. He broke both legs last year, because the medication makes his thigh bones brittle. Prof Esmore was forced to take several months off, but the man who has performed more than 600 heart or lung transplants, 800 cases of open heart surgery, and implanted 200 artificial hearts says he does not plan to slow down. "It was pretty tough, but (in this field) you are either in boots 'n' all or you are not in at all," he said. "I think it probably made me a bit tougher. I think if you suffer adversity ... and you get through it, it makes you actually a stronger person." And the reason he got into this business in the first place - a desire to save lives - remains just as strong as when he began his training with the likes of his mentor, Sydney's Victor Chang. Prof Esmore said "those phone calls", signalling that a donor organ has become available, remain just as potent at this stage of his career. "That is an aggrieved family with a young person, a brother, a sister, who has died. And when those organs are offered, you must be able to respond; otherwise, you diminish the significance of that offer," he said. "Every time the phone goes off ... it is my and the team's responsibility to act in a timely and appropriate way." Prof Esmore concedes being on call all day, every day, has taken a toll on his private life at times. "I've always had plans to do all sorts of things that I perhaps haven't done," he said. "Plenty of people are worse off than I am. You choose the path you choose. "I have worked pretty hard (and) I've probably suffered a bit because of that, but I wouldn't say I had any regrets with a large R. When you're in health, and you can actually help people, that's better than sitting on a beach. "When you can make a difference in an area that we all care about - health - one is lucky," he said. "The reward comes with being able to contribute to someone's health, and that's at a very extreme level - heart surgery, lung surgery, artificial hearts. "It's not just rubbing some cream on a rash and they say 'Thank you, doctor, I feel better', or doing a small operation. These are the extremes."
 * PIONEERING heart and lung surgeon Don Esmore has saved countless lives with his brilliant mind and nimble hands.**
 * But it's the hundreds rescued since he was diagnosed with his own life-threatening - but seldom discussed - illness that has elevated his reputation even further**.
 * Prof Esmore is being singled out for recognition by the City of Melbourne this month. He's been nominated for a Melbourne Award for his contribution to the community.**
 * Should that gong go to the acclaimed surgeon, it would join an Order of Australia Medal, as well as dozens of industry accolades.**
 * Prof Esmore, 60, insists any individual honour belongs to the team he leads at The Alfred's heart and lung transplant unit, which he helped establish two decades ago: "It's very much a team effort. It's not a one-man band."**

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