Some Suggestions For Cancer Patients And Their Families

Developing cancer, or having a cancer patient in the family, is one of the greatest misfortunes in life. Of all the diseases in the world that bring people suffering, cancer is probably the worst. Cancer destroys not only the body but also the spirit—the spirit of an entire family. So cancer patients and their families are deeply unfortunate. As the son of a cancer patient (and perhaps myself a future cancer patient), I spent several years in this suffering. Based on some of my own experiences, I would like to offer some suggestions to fellow patients and their families.

The first is to value rebuilding the family atmosphere. The family environment of the great majority of cancer patients is poor; relations among family members are tense, or subtly tense. Unhappiness is one of the factors that cause cancer. Cancer patients and their families absolutely need to deeply examine their ways of acting and dealing with things, and deeply examine their lifestyle. Rebuilding the family atmosphere is important, because in the long days ahead, the whole family will need to close ranks and fight the cancer together. Continued emotional unhappiness and an unhealthy lifestyle will greatly affect treatment outcome and may even be an important factor in the patient's death.

The second is to believe firmly in science, choose a good doctor, and choose a good treatment method—if you decide to treat. Unless poverty is so extreme that one truly must give up, most families choose treatment. I have rarely seen families give up on their closest relatives with cancer. Saving a life is imperative. In the process, you must believe in science; things picked up by hearsay are very unreliable. Over the years I tried many hearsay methods—for example, changing the patient's constitution to an alkaline one (to this end, in 2009 I bought whole sacks of water chestnuts and boiled water for my mother to drink, only ruining her stomach and intestines); trying to starve cancer cells through bigu (fasting); or some so-called special drug or miraculous wine discovered by someone or other that cures all ills (I once, foolishly believing a swindler named Li Demin from Xiangfan, Hubei, who claimed his medicinal wine cured AIDS, cancer and other stubborn diseases, bought his wine and recommended it to another patient; as a result my mother rapidly developed ascites after drinking it, and that other patient first had facial skin peel off and then took to his bed); or that extracts of lingzhi or ginseng can treat cancer (such ads never let up in hospital waiting rooms, and there are plenty online as well). It can basically be taken as certain that all of these are swindles with no scientific basis at all. Morality has collapsed in today's China; for money many people will do anything, and cancer patients are among their easiest targets. We must be on guard.

Choosing a good doctor is very important for treatment. Because of the system, doctor-patient relations in China are now extremely tense. On one hand, many doctors take red envelopes; on the other, doctors in hospitals now, fearing malpractice claims, tend to be conservative in treating patients, afraid of trouble. What kind of doctor does a cancer patient need? I think you need a specialist you can reach over the long term, who has a conscience and an open attitude; such a doctor should be knowledgeable in their field and free of prejudice (for example, prejudice between Chinese and Western medicine, or between TCM schools). The road of anti-cancer treatment is very long and may require many attempts. A long-term relationship of trust, tolerance, friendliness and sincerity should be built between patient and doctor. Let the doctor treat you at ease, able to carry out professional treatment with as little concern for the patient's emotions as possible. A doctor does not actually need a red envelope to give the patient their all. In my own years of seeking medical care, most doctors to whom I gave no red envelope became my good friends; much of my medical knowledge and skill I learned from them. Because of mutual respect, friendliness and trust, these doctors treated my mother very conscientiously and professionally, and I am very grateful for their efforts—though my mother most likely could not ultimately escape the cancer. I have seen many families in a state of confrontation with their doctors, some even extreme enough to set up cameras to record the doctor; when treating such families, the doctor is under great strain. Medicine itself is far from perfect, and unsolved medical problems pile up like a mountain. A doctor can easily be criticized for mismanagement, and can easily let a patient miss the chance of being saved out of fear of trouble. This is especially true in treating cancer. Therefore, once you choose a doctor, you must abandon the hostility toward doctors that society has infected you with; deal with them in good faith, so as to obtain the most effective treatment.

As for folk doctors, especially those who flaunt themselves loudly, I advise all patients to be cautious, cautious and cautious again. From my contacts over these past years, I have not yet found a folk doctor who is heavily publicized in the media and whose actual results truly match their claims. I have looked into the cases treated by the great majority of them; the results are seriously out of step with the advertising. Some advertised cases are outright fabricated. For example, a certain folk "holy doctor" surnamed Kong from Jiangxi: after I personally visited the patients, I found that cases he claimed cured were not cured at all; information about patients taking expensive targeted drugs alongside his medicines was all concealed. A certain folk doctor surnamed Qi from Shandong, under the very eyes of many netizens and me, treated a patient whose tumor was not even very terrifying for less than ten days before the patient died. After such incidents, this self-styled folk cancer expert did everything possible to suppress unfavorable information online. There is another kind of "folk holy doctor" who is simply selling some miraculous potion, claiming that after drinking it cancer is cured in a set number of days. There was one in Beijing; I simply went to his door, and once he saw I had found his home, he refused to sell me the potion.

But there are indeed some folk doctors with a good reputation; most of these have only one specialty. Such doctors must be carefully sought out yourself among the folk, and the most reliable starting point is to ask patients they have cured.

Choosing a good treatment plan requires doing your homework in advance, learning through multiple channels the pros and cons of various therapies and whether your family can bear the cost. The treatment plan suited to each disease is not entirely the same; good preparation means far fewer regrets. When making these choices, do not be prejudiced—neither against TCM nor against Western medicine. When choosing TCM, do not cling rigidly to the old TCM ways, and still less need you die in loyalty to some sectarian prejudice; when choosing Western medicine, do not overlook the role of TCM. If the finances allow, integrated Chinese-Western medicine is entirely possible. Treating cancer with pure TCM or pure Western medicine alone yields mediocre results. Many hospitals or charlatans who treat cancer patients as a meal ticket will brag about their results. True understanding comes from contacting other patients who have received these treatments and learning from them about the efficacy and harms.

The third is to actively study medicine and save yourself, if you have the ability. But studying medicine to save yourself must be done very cautiously; whenever you can turn to a professional doctor, do so to the fullest. Medicine is too specialized, especially clinical medicine, which is a matter of life and death; dabbling shallowly in it is hard to avoid causing serious medical accidents. Clinical work is best done under the guidance of a professional doctor. Venturing on your own to save money and trouble is very dangerous. It is best if someone can guide you. When you decide to use herbs with a strong, aggressive nature, always remember safety first: start by trying a small dose, and gradually increase to the effective dose.