Clemencia Aguinaldo’s story

On December 12, 2015, Ms. Clemencia from Philippine looks great in the khaki’s woolen coat. Before she was discharged, she and her daughter shook hands with Dr. Niu Lizhi, president of Fuda Cancer Hospital in farewell. She said gratefully, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Niu, without whom I might be still tortured by cancer...” Liu Hongyun, head of the nursing group of third ward found it even harder to say goodbye to them. She embraced them tightly and sent her best wishes. The scene was really moving.

A photo of the patient (in the middle) and medical workers

Clemencia is 69 years old this year. She told the reporter that she had always been in good health until July 2010 when she found a mass in the right lower neck. She received examination at a local hospital and was found to have right undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Her condition showed no remission after operation and daily treatment. Later on, a fellow townsman told her that Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital in China has been delivering good therapeutic effects for patients and many people have sought treatment over there. Clemecia decided to give it a try for fear that her condition would aggravate.

In September 2010, she headed for Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital with her daughter. She was surprised to learn that medical workers at FUDA should have arranged airport pick-up service for them. Clemecia said, “FUDA has been very considerate in taking care of foreign patients.”

With the assistance of medical workers at FUDA, Clemencia went through admission formalities in no time. Patient completed relevant examinations after admission. The admitting diagnosis was “multiple solid masses are detected in right neck, which were considered to be enlarged lymph nodes; nasopharyngeal carcinoma with lymph node metastases in right neck; right thyroid nodule.” The expert medical team led by Dr. Niu Lizhi discussed and finalized the treatment plan as argon-helium cryosurgery for her on the basis of the examination result.

Dr. Niu Lizhi introduced that Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital became the first hospital in mainland China to have introduced argon-helium cryosurgery since its initiation in 2001. The biggest advantages of argon-helium cryosurgery lie in its complete destruction of tumor, prevention of tumor metastases, painless treatment process and exemption of body trauma.

Clemencia showed great satisfaction to the treatment plan and her willingness to cooperate with treatment.

On September 15, 2010, Clemencia underwent argon-helium cryosurgery at Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital. She felt much better after the procedure. She also underwent two cycles of interventional chemotherapy on October 12 and November 1 respectively. She showed improved condition and was discharged.

Later, Clemencia underwent another three cycles of interventional chemotherapy at Fuda Cancer Hospital on December 2010, January 2011, and February 2011 respectively.

After she went back to Philippine, Clemencia received many times of examinations at local hospital and no evidence of tumor recurrence was ever found. Some of her friends were so surprised to see her in such good condition, saying, “You look so energetic and doesn’t look like a cancer patient at all”. Clemencia was really glad to hear that. She said her condition has improved significantly and she is totally fit after treatment at Fuda Cancer Hospital.

In December 2015, Clemencia come back to FUDA once again for re-examination and DC-CIK immunotherapy. She told the reporter that she now has good quality of sleep and good spirit every day. And she has resumed her living habit before she got sick. She takes a walk every day as walking is her favorite sport. She once again expressed her thanks to medical workers at FUDA for helping her regain a healthy life.

A photo of (from left to right) the patient’s daughter, the patient, Liu Hongyun, head of the nursing group of third ward, the patient’s husband (during hospitalization) 

A photo of (from left to right) the patient, patient’s daughter, Liu Hongyun, head of the nursing group of third ward on December 12, 2015

A photo of (from Left to right) the patient, patient’s daughter, Liu Hongyun, head of nursing group of third ward on December 12, 2015

TIPS：

Cryosurgical Ablation (CSA)

As a new treatment for cancer, cryosurgery has been approved by the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration in 1998 and China FDA in 1999 respectively. China has been taking a lead in the world both in terms of cryosurgery cases and treated types of cancer. Since the introduction of cryosurgery in 2000, Fuda Cancer Hospital has carried out 5,000 cases of cryosurgery for 34 types of cancer, taking a leading position both at home and abroad.

Principle 

Cryosurgery is an important ablation technique for tumors. The fundamental principle of cryosurgery is as follows. The temperature of cancerous tissue falls to below -160℃rapidly and then raises to normal temperature. The process can lead to dehydration and rupture of cancer cells or destruction of small tumor blood vessels that would lead to tumor cell death. Dead cancerous tissues in situ after cryosurgery can elicits an immunologic reaction as antigens; cancer cells after cryosurgery are more sensitive to chemotherapy or cryosurgery, hence the effectiveness of chemotherapy or radiotherapy is enhanced.

Cryosurgery can be carried out during open surgery, under the guidance of endoscopy or through percutaneous puncture, among percutaneous cryosurgery is most commonly used.

 
 

Advantages

1. Cryosurgery is a localized medical procedure. It can be used as the sole means of cancer treatment or it can be combined with other conventional treatment techniques such as surgical operation, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.

2. Combining cryosurgery with excision can be advantageous since freezing the tumor before excision minimizes the risk of spreading the cancerous cells during excision.

3. In addition to sparing healthy tissue, cryosurgery is advantageous because it is not dose-limited can be repeated as necessary in order to destroy all cancerous tissue.

4. In situations where the tumor is not removed after freezing, especially percutaneous cryosurgery, operative blood loss is small and post-surgical discomfort is minimized.

5. Cryoprobes are relatively small (generally in the range of 24 mm in diameter) and therefore they may be used in minimally invasive surgical procedures.

6. There are no major side effects which are commonly found in chemotherapy or radiotherapy

7. Cryosurgery is adaptable for treatment of tumor close to large vessel which cannot be removed by operation.

8. Cryosurgery can treat small as well as large tumors, and solitary as well as multiple tumors.

9. Cryosurgery not only destroys neoplasms locally, but it also elicits an immunologic reaction (cryoimmunologic reaction) against cancer.

10. It produces a synergy effect to combine cryosurgery with radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

11. There is evidence that the recurrence rate of cancer after cryosurgery is lower than that of operation

Indications:

Nearly all parenchymal cancers are prime candidates for cryoablation. They include liver cancer, ling cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, pharyngeal cancer, testicular cancer, uterine tumor, vaginal cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, sarcoma and other benign or malignant lesions of bone, prostate cancer, skin cancer and melanoma, head and neck cancer and soft tissue tumor of various kinds and etc. In addition, cryosurgery can be an effective treatment for retinoblastoma, skin basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinomas, actinic keratosis and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Laureate of Rank Prize commented that you can entrust your life to Fuda Cancer Hospital

On March 24, 2016, Ms. Lu Mingying, a renowned scientist and Rank Prize laureate was discharged from hospital after receiving comprehensive treatment at Fuda Cancer Hospital for two months. One day before discharge, she put on her scarf and, to express her joy and appreciation, she said good-bye to doctors and nurses who had been taking care of her express “It is the doctors at FUDA that have saved me from the verge of death.” 
 

Xu Kecheng, Chief President of Fuda Cancer Hospital and Ms. Lu Mingying

 

Ms. Lu Mingying and nurses of the 4th ward

One week before her discharge, we visited her. During the interview, she worn the same red scarf. “This is a present from a friend of mine cause wearing red makes me look more radiant.” She felt much betteras she just stooped her oral chemotherapy medicine on that day. She shared with us her experience of studying in UK, her Rank Prize winning stories and her journey of fighting against cancer.

The influence of her father  

Lu Mingying was born in a scholarly family in 1954. Her father Lu Zhongzuo, the founder of vacuum electronic devices major in China, had long engaged in the research of microwave tube and wrote the first batch of textbooks and monographs on microwave electronics in China. “Being raised in such an environment, I developed a keen interest in mathematics, physics and optoelectronics since I was a little child.”she said. Unfortunately, she had to suspend her schooling as the Great Cultural Revolution broke out when she was just enrolled into middle school. Two years later, she resumed her schooling in a nearby middle school. In 1970, Lu Mingying, who just turned to 16, was assigned to a small factory and worked there for seven years.

Lu Mingqi, Lu Ming’s elder sister, noted, “Before the college entrance examination system was resumed in China, my sister had never quit learning. She worked during the day and studied at night”. It was with her persistence that she made her way into the Department of Electronic Engineering of Nanjing Institute of Technology (currently Southeast University) in 1977.  

Lu Mingying (R) and her elder sister Lu Mingqi

In university, Lu Mingying met her life partner - Wang Guoyu, her classmate. In her memory, they spent most of time doing research in the lab instead of going dating. Upon graduation from university, Lu Mingying was accepted into the postgraduate program of Southeast University while Wang Guoyu was accepted into the postgraduate program of Tsinghua University. They got married after finished their master degree. In 1984, they had their fist child. Later, Lu Mingying served as a lecturer in Southeast University while her husband also chose to work as lecturer in the same university.

Studying in England 

In the end of 1980s, digital camera was very expensive and it cost thousands of dollars to buy one. The main reason was that the imaging sensor of digital camera was very costly. Even researchers in Japan, Europe and America were not able to tackle the difficult problem.

Wang Guoyu and Lu Mingying, who were then studied in the University of Edinburgh, were enrolled into an experimental group in 1987 and 1989 respectively. They joined two professors of the University of Edinburgh with a clear purpose, that was to develop new imaging sensors. They put forward a bold proposal, which was whether common semiconductor integrated circuit can be applied to imaging sensor as it can greatly reduce the cost of imaging sensor.

After years of unremitting efforts, they successfully applied common semiconductor integrated circuit into imaging sensor. The technological innovation has brought about great changes. The cost of imaging sensor reduced by one third; imaging sensor can be mass produced; the price of digital camera fell from several thousands dollars to around 10 USD. In 2002, the technology began to be applied to Nokia mobile phones and widely has been applied to mobile phones since then. Mobile phone photographing has become an easy thing. It has turned from a luxury to popular consumable goods. “The 50million chips for mobile phone photographing produced every day are using our technology.” Lu Mingying said proudly.

A surprising award

The application of common semiconductor integrated circuit in imaging sensors is an epoch-making shift in the industry of digital camera. The four researchers including Lu Mingying were awarded the Rank Prize in 2008.

Established in 1972, the Rank Prize is one of the top science awards in England in recognition of researchers who have made tremendous contribution to the fields of optoelectronic science and nutriology. It is reputed as the Nobel Prize in the fields of optoelectronic science and nutriology. As of now, only a few Chinese, including Charles Kao, the Father of Fiber Optic Communications and Yuan Longping, the Father of Hybrid Rice, have won the Rank Prize.

“It’s really surprising”, Lu Mingying said when she delivered her acceptance speech. It turned out that in March 2007, Lu Mingying received a letter, asking if she would like to participate in the selection of the Rank Prize. “The scientific research achievement was made over 10 years ago. We almost forget about it.” The couple felt that it must be someone who was playing tricks with them so they did not pay any attention to it. Shortly after that, Lu Mingying received a letter from her previous supervisor, asking if she had received an invitation letter for the selection of the Rank Prize. It was until then did the couple realized that it was not a trick.

“I was so surprised and excited”, said Lu Mingying. They had invested so much time and efforts in order to overcome the technical difficulty. It was really a surprise for them to finally get the recognition after over 10 years. 

Facing up to the devil of cancer

In December, 2015, Lu Mingying started to feeling unwell and often had lower abdomen pain. She had thought it was just urinary system infection and took a lot of antibiotics but the symptoms showed no remission. In December, she come to China for an academic conference. Her husband insisted that she should do a  physical examination. Ultrasound result showed that there was a tumor sizing 7x8cm in liver. The doctor said that she was at advanced stage and an immediate CT scan was suggested. Further examinations proved that she was suffering from cholangiocarcinoma with metastases in bones, lymph nodes and abdominal cavity.

“It was the first time I’ve heard of this term and I had no idea what it is exactly. I searched on the Internet and learned that cholangiocarcinoma cannot be easily treated.” In the face of the unexpected disease, Lu Mingying did nor show extreme sadness and despair as other cancer patients. She did not She was so emotionally peaceful when she was telling us her story.

Some doctors suggested her to do radiotherapy and chemotherapy first but she declined. She kept on looking for new and mini-invasive treatments on the internet. One day, she accidentally read a piece of news, saying that cholangiocarcinoma can be treated with NanoKnife. “I saw a light of hope after I read the news”. At first, she chose to go back to England for treatment. She consulted a renowned Nanoknife specialist from the Medical School of Imperial College London. However, it would take long time waiting for NanoKnife in England. She chose to go back to China for NanoKnife for fear that her condition would progress. 

Getting to know FUDA by virtue of NanoKnife  
  
Lu Mingying set her mind on the new technology of NanoKnife. She searched about NanoKnife on the Internet and finally traced down to Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital. After learned that FUDA had completed over 70 cases of NanoKnife, she decided to come to Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital for treatment. 

Her sister said, “Before we come to FUDA, I went all the way to a major hospital in Xi’an cause I read from a newspaper that the hospital has completed successful cases of NanoKnife. I even consulted a specialist about my sister’s case but the specialist said the tumor was too big to be ablated. ”

In January 13, 2016, Lu Mingying was admitted into Fuda Cancer Hospital. Due to rapid disease progression, she was too weak to walk upon admission and she had ascites and fever. “From the first day that I was admitted into the hospital, I have had the feeling that it was right for me to choose FUDA. All medical staffs, from the president to doctors and nurses have been very nice to me. On the second day of my admission, Xu Kecheng, the Chief President of FUDA, Niu Lizhi, the Executive President of FUDA and other experts made rounds and they gave me a lot of encouragement. I felt assured. I’mconvinced that I could entrust my life to FUDA. If FUDA cannot do any treatment for me, I won’t be treated in anywhere else.”

In the following days, Lu Mingying received comprehensive treatments, including photodynamic therapy, NanoKnife, iodine seeds implantation therapy, etc. “It is the doctors at FUDA that have saved me from the verge of death.” Lu Mingying said. 

After two months’ treatments, she has built up more and more confidence in FUDA. Where does the confidence come from? First of all, it comes from the excellent skills of the doctors. They have been very patient in explaining to me the upcoming treatment and I’m very clear about the possible side effects; secondly, it comes from the “green therapy” offered by FUDA. The green therapy, or minimally invasive treatment, has inflicted no pain, which accords with my concept of treatment; thirdly, the confidence comes from the humanitarian service provided by FUDA. Doctors, nurses and cleaners always greet patients with smile. I have been feeling very comfortable for the last two months.

“One of my supervisors died of brain cancer. I thought how nice it would be if he had been treated at FUDA. That’s why I want to share my treatment experience and feelings with other patients so that more patients can get to know FUDA and gain survival benefits here. ”