Chemotherapy twice a week, eight times a month.
After each chemotherapy treatment, the abdomen is like a meat grinder, and the pain makes people toss and turn in the hospital bed.
As soon as the person recovered, he was about to undergo the next chemotherapy treatment, and his weight plummeted from more than 100 pounds at the beginning to 70 or 80 pounds now.
When cancer strikes, what kind of suffering does the patient suffer, and is surgery necessary for advanced cancer?
Hua Yiwei, China's top oncologist, was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer in 2005......
The statements in this article are based on reliable sources of information and are detailed at the end of the article.
gastric cancer
Hua Yiwei is one of the best oncologists in China, and it can be said that he has been on the front line of fighting cancer all his life. When he reached the age of retirement, he was rehired by the hospital to continue working.
In July 2005, Hua Yiwei, who was already 72 years old, felt that his appetite was getting smaller and smaller, and his digestion was becoming more and more difficult.
So he had a check-up in the hospital, stomach cancer.
After getting the inspection report, Hua Yiwei took a few steps forward, paused, sat on the chair next to him, and didn't want to say a word.
Often, when he sees other patients with cancer, he still doesn't understand why they are reluctant to tell their families and actively treat them.
Now he only feels that there is a jack falling on him, so that he can't retreat and can't move forward, even if he is in place, he is only sinking step by step.
As a veteran TCM doctor who has been battling cancer for 56 years, Hua Yiwei quickly developed his own treatment.
Laparotomy was performed, and after the diagnosis of advanced gastric cancer was confirmed, routine treatment, i.e., total gastrectomy.
But no one knew at the time, it was this decision that made Dr. Hua Yiwei fall into great pain for the next year.
Cancer pain
After the laparotomy confirmed that he was in the advanced stage of gastric cancer, the doctors performed a total gastrectomy according to Hua Yiwei's request.
Total gastrectomy is the removal of the entire stomach so that the esophagus is connected directly to the small intestine.
After the operation, the bēn gate was also removed.
When people eat, the cardia opens to allow the food to enter the stomach. When eating is stopped, the cardia is closed, and even if the person is lying upside down, food from the stomach or stomach acid does not flow into the esophagus.
Nowadays, Hua Yiwei's body is not controlled by the cardia, and the bile and intestinal fluid in his body will rise uncontrollably, which directly leads to severe symptoms such as reflux and heartburn in Hua Yiwei.
Even in the following time, Hua Yiwei could not lie flat at all, and could only lie half-lying on the hospital bed.
Even though he had a total gastrectomy, in order to inhibit the spread of cancer cells, Hua Yiwei also underwent abdominal heat chemotherapy.
If you want to suppress cancer, chemotherapy seems to be an inevitable thing, but the real pain it causes still makes Hua Yiwei say bluntly: "I can't imagine how I persevered." ”
What Hua Yiwei did was intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy.
That is, the patient lies on the hospital bed, and the heated chemotherapy drugs are fed into the body through a series of devices for circulation.
During this process, the abdominal cavity is heated to 41°C.
It can be imagined that when the fever reaches 39°C, people feel weak, headache, and nausea, and now at 41°C, the body is like a blender, and there is no peace for a moment.
During these 90 minutes, Hua Yiwei kept coming out, and even after the chemotherapy ended, he had to change two sets of clothes in a row.
Even so, after every chemotherapy, Hua Yiwei's abdomen still hurts, and he relies on painkillers every time he sleeps.
In addition to chemotherapy, the various sequelae that come with it are also unbearable.
The body is full of various infusion tubes, whether it is in the hands, in the throat, or in various parts of the abdomen.
When his body finally eased, he pushed forward to chemotherapy.
Improve surgery
Even in this case, Hua Yiwei, who also has the identity of an oncologist, is still learning from experience.
In the past, when treating cancer patients, they only thought about removing the source and focusing on the healing rate.
But now that I have implemented it myself, I understand the pain of the patient.
"As doctors, we can't just treat diseases, but treat patients who have changed diseases. Hua Yiwei sighed.
Facing the doctor who took care of him, Hua Yiwei deliberately raised his arm and gestured with both hands: "Even if you leave a little stomach, it is better than a full cut, and the patient is not so painful." ”
Suppose the patient can live for a year and a half after a total gastric resection, but less than a year without a complete resection.
But the former has to live in pain all day long, while the latter can be more comfortable.
This choice between disease and quality of life also depends on which is more beneficial to the patient.
Under the personal guidance of Hua Yiwei, the surgical method for treating gastric cancer patients was improved.
If you can't cut it completely, you won't cut it completely, even if it is a complete stomach, you will find a way to drain the intestinal juice and bile when you are hungry.
Looking at the smiles on the faces of stomach cancer patients after that, many doctors who had taken care of Hua Yiwei couldn't help but burst into tears.
Even on August 12, 2006, before Dr. Hua Yiwei died, he tried his best to advise on various medical matters, and even told his will.
will
Dr. Hua Yiwei affirmed that after his death, he donated his body, did not issue an obituary, and did not say goodbye to his body......
Looking back on Hua Yiwei's life, he treated every operation with excellence, treated every patient equally, never received red envelopes, and never prescribed expensive medicines.
No matter what time it is, he is so respected and loved......
Is surgery necessary for advanced cancer?
This is a difficult question to answer, after all, life and death are involved, and it is extremely heavy.
First of all, it depends on the cost performance of the surgery.
If the surgery can solve a big problem, and later in life, it will not bring great sequelae.
Secondly, there is also the risk and personal willingness to consider.
Of course, the most important thing is the patient's personal wishes, fully considering themselves and the advice of their family.
epilogue
We've all heard the phrase "precaution".
If you feel uncomfortable physically, don't endure it, you must seek medical treatment in time, otherwise you may be like Cai Huangong, who was treated by Bian Que, who avoided medical treatment and did not pay attention to it.
Throughout history, many diseases that were previously considered terminally ill have now become treatable. We must believe that with the continuous development of medical technology, there will definitely be more and more ways to treat cancer.
Shingen
The Last Days of Hua Yiwei's Life 【News & Conference Information Edition】