As His Name Suggests, He Fought Liver Cancer for Eleven Years: Serene Remaining Years

Serene Remaining Years (QQ nickname Bin) has passed away. In the eleventh year after his liver cancer diagnosis, he left this world peacefully.

I have known Brother Bin for nearly four years, beginning when he started following my blog. Brother Bin also wrote a blog on Sina, named precisely "Serene Remaining Years," and his Weibo handle was the same. He was a well-known, popular figure in several prominent liver-cancer QQ groups. His optimism, open-mindedness, and humor touched many people. It was precisely this attitude toward life that helped him endure those eleven difficult years.

As an old cancer patient who had fought liver cancer for eleven years, Brother Bin's mind had grown as detached as an old monk's; life and death no longer stirred him. Eleven years ago he was found to have massive liver cancer, and few could have imagined he would live eleven more years. Through all these years Brother Bin kept working and living as before; he needed to work to earn money for treatment and to raise his children to adulthood.

His family never abandoned him. Brother Bin lived in a loving environment, which many cancer patients envy. Perhaps this was not unrelated to his surviving eleven years after a massive liver cancer diagnosis.

Brother Bin's attitude toward his own life and death was exactly as his blog and Weibo name suggested: "serene remaining years." He had come to terms with everything about the rest of his life, and he hoped his family would also come to terms with his life and death. In the last month or so of Brother Bin's life, a fellow patient in his ward passed away. The patient's family calmly handled the deceased's affairs, and afterward apologized to Brother Bin, saying, "Sorry to have disturbed you." Brother Bin was moved by this scene; he admired the family's detached attitude. Indeed, before unavoidable death, the best response for us frail humans is simply to accept it calmly.

Brother Bin was not only serene about his own death; he likewise hoped his family would face it serenely. For many cancer patients, the fear and grief of death have already been overcome; what they cannot let go of is the pain their departure will bring to their families.

Surviving eleven years after liver cancer is already a miracle. Steve Jobs, with all his wealth, survived only eight years after cancer. From this angle, Brother Bin was lucky. In the eleven years after his cancer diagnosis, Brother Bin could still accompany his family, enjoy the love they gave him, and watch his children grow up step by step—that is already remarkable.

After his cancer diagnosis Brother Bin did not put himself through too much; he did not even go to a specialized cancer hospital for treatment, instead finding a liver-disease hospital locally in Guangdong. His attending physician was no famous, renowned master, but someone who could carefully safeguard his life. This kind of rationality is beyond the reach of the average cancer patient.

Many cancer patients, upon learning their diagnosis, desperately rush to Beijing and Shanghai seeking the most famous hospitals and doctors in the field, some even sparing no expense to go abroad to doctors at the world's top hospitals. But Brother Bin did not do this; he entrusted himself to a small figure in the medical world. This was very rational. Among the long-term survivors I now know, most were treated by such doctors of little fame. Because these doctors have fewer patients, they can devote themselves to each one, unlike the renowned masters who rush through every patient. This kind of doctor-patient relationship, on the contrary, allowed him to receive the best treatment.

Brother Bin was kind and approachable to everyone and was extremely well liked in the cancer community. For years he chose integrated Chinese-Western anti-cancer treatment; prolonged illness makes a good doctor. He knew a great deal about liver cancer and was glad to help and guide other patients. He loved joking around in the QQ groups, cracking cheerful, carefree jokes. Though a cancer patient, he lived far more relaxed than most people. He worked and supported his family just the same, but before death he saw through fame, wealth, and position, let all of it go, and cherished life, the affection of his family, and the deep friendships forged with fellow sufferers. He gave and he was grateful, and he lived happily.

Less than a month ago, Brother Bin was still bantering with me in my QQ and WeChat groups. By then he had already been hospitalized for nearly two months due to bile duct obstruction. Even so, Brother Bin still greeted everything with a smile. At this moment, Brother Bin—this man born in 1968—had in fact already made preparations for his own departure. This calm attitude toward dying commands the deepest admiration. This was Brother Bin's last blog post, written for his fellow patients.

Walk on, and cherish every step
This post I had not intended to write, but I simply cannot sleep, so I'll just say a few words.

What I regret is that for four years Brother Bin had hoped to find me in person for TCM treatment, yet we never met; I only offered him some treatment advice over the internet. Four years of mutual care can now only conclude with my wishing Brother Bin swift entry into the Pure Land and hoping his family finds solace.

Brother Bin's blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/zhoubin1968

His Weibo "Serene Remaining Years": http://weibo.com/zhoubin1968?source=blog