The Story of Zhang Jinmei and her mother

Zhang Jinmei and her mother, two liver cancer survivors from Vietnam, returned to Fuda Cancer Hospital for re-examination together. In the morning of May 13, 2016, they expressed their appreciation to medical staffs at Fuda Cancer Hospitaln before their discharge.

Four out of the eight family members have been diagnosed with liver cancer

Hepatitis B virus infection and hepatitis C virus infection can significantly increase the incidence of liver cancer. Vietnam is one of the countries with high incidence of hepatitis. Vietnamese media reported that the number of hepatitis B virus carriers account for more than 10% of the national population and the number of hepatitis C virus carriers account for 0.4%-4.1% of the national population.

Zhang Jinmei, 46 years old, is from Ho Chi Minh City. She was born in a family with a medical history of hepatitis B. In the past few years, four out of the eight family members have been diagnosed with liver cancer. Her fourth brother passed away not long after his advanced liver cancer diagnosis. Her elder brother is receiving treatment in Europe and is currently in stable condition. In June 2012, Zhang Jinmei was found to have primary hepatic carcinoma during her physical examination at a local hospital. From July 2012 to January 2014, she underwent three cycles of TACE (transcatheter arterial chemoembolization) at a local hospital. However, the tumor did not shrink instead it grew bigger. Her doctor in Vietnam suggested her to do operation but she refused.

In order to seek more appropriate treatment methods, Zhang Jinmei’s elder sister found on the Internet that Fuda Cancer Hospital offers minimally invasive treatments for cancer, which have attracted patients from dozens of countries.

On May 9, 2014, Zhang Jinmei was admitted into Fuda Cancer Hospital. After completed relevant examinations, she underwent interventional chemotherapy and brachytherapy. The procedures went smoothly.

The mother and daughter both choose Fuda Cancer Hospital for cancer treatment

On May 26, 2014, Zhang Jinmei came to Guangzhou again with her 74-year-old mom who was also suffering from liver cancer.

Zhang Jinmei recalled, “After my liver cancer diagnosis in 2012, my mom was also diagnosed with liver cancer several months later. My mom has undergone various treatments at a local hospital but none of them showed good therapeutic effect. That’s why my brother and I suggested her to do treatment here.”

Zhang Jinmei’s mom said, “To be honest, I took a skeptical attitude towards the treatments offered here upon my admission. But soon, I found that my worries are really unnecessary. My doctors are very experienced and made the treatment plan for me after I completed relevant examinations. ”

On May 29, 2014, Zhang Jinmei’s mother underwent argon-helium cryosurgery. The procedure went smoothly and her cancer showed remission.

In May 2014, Zhang Jinmei was found to have lung metastases during her re-examination in Vietnam. Then, she made another trip to Fuda Cancer Hospital. Zhang Jinmei underwent three times of cryosurgery on liver tumors and one time of cryosurgery on left lung tumor from August 2014 to June 2015. She has had good postoperative recovery.

On May 9, 2015, Zhang Jinmei and her mother returned to Fuda Cancer Hospital for re-examination. The examination result of Ms. Zhang’s mother showed no tumor recurrence while hers showed residual active lesions in the left lower lung. Then, Zhang Jinmie received another cycle of cryosurgery.

To give a thumb-up to the doctors for their patience, care and sincerity

“I would like to thank chief physician Wang Jiannan, attending doctor Zhou Zhanchun, resident doctor Zhu Song, and resident doctor Lin Yuguo for answering our questions patiently. We are also very touched that Chief president Xu Kecheng also took time off from his busy schedule to visit us.”

“It’s been very difficult for my family in the past two years. All my families are hepatitis B virus carriers. My elder son and youngest daughter are both suffering from liver cancer and my fourth son also died of liver cancer. But now we are fortunate to have the encouragement from the medical staffs at FUDA, who always cheer us up whenever they saw us. I feel that I’m not only a cancer patient but also a family member of theirs. They can understand our sense of helplessness and make us feel the warmth from families.” Ms. Zhang’s mother said.


Infection of hepatitis B virus increases the risk of getting liver cancer

Li Jiangliang, director of Cancer Prevention and Rehabilitation Center of Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital noted malignant cancer is a major killer in the world while liver cancer is also a major disease that is posing threat to people’s life in China. In the fight against liver cancer, the premise of treatment is prevention, which could minimize the occurrence rate of liver cancer, and improve the early diagnostic rate of liver cancer,, improve the curative effect of cancer treatment and prolong the lifespan of the nationals.

Notably, infection of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus will significantly increase the occurrence of liver cancer. The risk of getting liver cancer among hepatitis B virus carriers is 15 to 20 times higher than that among healthy people. Therefore, proper use of hepatitis B vaccine is an effective means to lower the risk of getting liver cancer. Not only baby child should receive hepatitis B vaccine injection but also adults who haven’t received the injection or who have received the injection but showed hepatitis B antibody negative. Apart from hepatitis B vaccine injection, other routes of transmission should also be severed, including receiving injection, acupuncture or oral treatment in unregulated medical institutions.

Expert profile:

Dr. Li Jiangliang was graduated from Norman Bethune Health Science Center of Jilin University in 1999. He obtained his master degree of medical immunology at Institute of Virology, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2005. He obtained his Doctoral Degree of Molecular Chemistry and Molecular Biology at Peking Union Medical College. Served as a research assistant at the Medical School of the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 2009 to 2010, he currently serves as the director of Cancer Prevention and Rehabilitation Center of Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital.

On Father's Day, he cooked breakfast for his father

It is often said father’s love is as tall and majestic as a mountain and as wide and deep as ocean. Father is accustomed to spend all his life to support his children in a quiet way.

Last Sunday is Father's Day. Children expressed their love for their father in various ways, having dinner and enjoying the scenery with their father…Mr. Yu, 40, expressed his love for his father in his own way. He cooked breakfast for his father on the special day.

Mr. Yu is a fire protection engineer. He lived away from his parents ever since he got married. His family and busy work have gradually drifted him away from his parents. It was until March 2016 when his father was diagnosed with liver cancer did he realized that he neglected his parents. Recently, his father has been receiving treatment in Fuda Cancer Hospital. His father underwent operation on June 17, 2016 and was transferred from ICU to his ward on the next day. As father’s day was approaching, Mr. Yu was considering showing his love to his father in a special way.

In the morning of June 18, Mr. Yu, who seldom cooks, decided to cook a breakfast for his father. Considering that his father was not having good appetite after the operation, he decided to cook porridge fruit salad as breakfast for his father.

He carefully selected several kinds of fruits, including his father’s favorite orange and grapes and then he bought rice and salad dressing in the supermarket. After purchased all food ingredients, he started preparing breakfast in the self-service kitchen at the hospital.

With the porridge cooking in the pot, Mr. Yu started to prepare the salad. Soon, a side dish of salad was done. Mr. Yu seemed to be a little bit nervous to cook breakfast for his father for the first time. As his father was eating the porridge, Mr. Yu started to shell an egg. He immediately helped his father clean with a piece of tissue at the sight of food debris at the corner of his mouth. The simple gesture was a pure display of love. Then, he passed his father the salad. Seeing his father eaten up all the food he prepared, Mr. YU was very happy. 

Mr. Yu said his father was a senior engineer engaged in water supply and drainage and also a big fan of basketball and badminton. In March 4, 2016, his 68-year-old father did examinations at a local hospital due to discomfort in neck and was found to have metastases in cervical vertebrae 5 and cervical vertebrae 6. On March 9, he underwent metastasectomy of cervical vertebrae 5 and cervical vertebrae 6. Postoperative CT scan showed multiple tumors in liver. To seek further treatment, Mr. Yu came to Fuda Cancer Hospital, Guangzhou with his father. His father’s condition gradually improved after underwent NanoKnife and cryosurgery on liver tumors. The thing he felt the most after his father’s cancer diagnosis is that children might neglect their parents, especially after getting married and what we should do is to spend more time with our parents as much as possible.

The father was delighted with the breakfast and care delivered by his son. He said, “My son is really nice. He has been paying my medical bill from the very beginning and I’m even more surprised that he cooked breakfast for me.”

Mr. Yu said behind the camera, “Dad, we will always be with you on the journey of fighting against cancer. We hope you can recover as soon as possible as we still have a promising future to look forward to.”

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. ”