* Statement: This article is only for popular science purposes and cannot be used as a basis for treatment. In order to protect patient privacy, the relevant information in the following content has been processed
Reposted from the real experience of Xiaohe Health App
[Disease type] Lung cancer - lung adenocarcinoma
[ Basic information] Female, diagnosed age 30 years old
[Time of diagnosis] June 30, 2019
Sudden disease
I am an inpatient doctor and have been working clinically for about 7 years. Along the way, I have seen in the hospital Too many separations of life and death. "In the blink of an eye," life is also so fragile. Birth, old age, illness, death, and misfortunes can cause many lives that should not have left the world.
I thought I took life and death lightly, but when the disaster really happened to me, I felt extremely panicked and scared. I am the unfavored child of God. Just when I was satisfied with my work and life, the disease dealt me a fatal blow.
Picture source: The narrator provides
The diagnosis process
Two years ago, when a licensed physician registered for , everything was normal during the physical examination. However, something unexpected happens. When the hospital arranged a physical examination for employees, he accidentally discovered that he had a defect in both lungs. Lots of shadows. At that time, I felt confused and felt that the sky was falling. I thought of many diseases (tuberculosis, lung cancer, pneumonia), etc. in my mind.
But looking back on this period, I often felt weak, anorexic, and had chest and back pain. "Lung cancer" kept echoing in my mind, and I felt extremely scared.
After I showed the chest DR film to our director and dean, they considered the possibility of tuberculosis and asked for further examination. At that time, I was still lucky, tuberculosis although it takes a long time to take medicine, it can be cured. Accompanied by my best friend, I arrived at the hospital. After undergoing chest CT , tuberculin test and other related examinations, I waited for a long time. I felt uneasy and felt that the time was like torture. After the results came out, the director of the tuberculosis department of the hospital earnestly told me to rule out the possibility of tuberculosis based on the test results, and asked me to go to the cancer hospital for further diagnosis.
At that time, I couldn't help crying sadly. I couldn't control my emotions anymore. My mind went blank. I didn't know what to do. Because I knew that if it wasn’t tuberculosis, there was only one possibility, and that was malignant tumor. I instantly felt that the world was in darkness, and I was the one who couldn’t find a way out.
I clearly remember that my father-in-law and my sister called me to ask about the situation. I was so choked that I couldn’t speak, and burst into tears. I couldn’t describe what it was like at that time. My best friend has been by my side to comfort me, telling me that there are no symptoms in my lungs and it has not been diagnosed yet. Don’t be so pessimistic, in case it is not a tumor but inflammation or something.
Anyway, he said so many encouraging words at that time that I can’t remember clearly. I slowly calmed down and returned to the hospital where I worked with an extremely depressed mood. With the help of the department director and dean of our hospital, they contacted another hospital and offered me a bed in the respiratory department of the inpatient department the next day.
In the evening, my husband rushed back from Jiangsu. I saw his red eyes with tears in his eyes. I knew that he was very sad and sad. I felt that I was sorry for him and failed to take good care of my body. I cried so hard that my husband hugged me tightly while crying and said: "We can only cry once. We must be strong in the future. No matter what the outcome is, I will face it with you and share the burden together, because we are As a whole, no one can live without the other. "
The next day, I was admitted to the respiratory ward smoothly. The next step was to arrange a series of examinations, including blood draws, color ultrasound, CT, MRI, and whole body bone scan. Electrocardiogram, cervical lymph node biopsy and other related examinations. During this examination, I fantasized many times that I did not have a tumor because I don’t smoke, drink, or eat spicy barbecue. I have no family history of hereditary disease and my living habits are pretty good.
However, the test results were consistent with the diagnosis of tumor. After a week of examination, the results of the cervical lymph node biopsy came out. I was completely desperate. I have been a kind person all my life, and they say that good people are rewarded, but God is really unkind to me.
I was heartbroken when I got the diagnosis written by the doctor "Left lung adenocarcinoma with intrapulmonary, lymph node , bone metastasis T2NxM1c stage IV" . I'm only 30 years old and I'm a doctor. Why didn't I notice the advanced stage of cancer? Now I don't even have the chance for surgery. What should I do in the future? My parents still need me to support them. My son is still so young. I I can't give up, I have to live strong.
Image source: provided by the narrator
Thank you to everyone who has helped me
Since I fell ill, many, many people, including my relatives, classmates, colleagues, unit leaders, and caregivers, have come to visit me, comfort me, and encourage me.
What surprised me was the donations from organizations. I didn’t even know many people. I received care and help from many caring people. Thank you for your generosity. I am very touched. It is you who have given me financial support and hope in life. I wish you all the best.
Image source: The narrator provides
treatment options
After the biopsy results came out, the doctor arranged for me to do gene testing , and a specific treatment plan will be arranged after the report comes out. After another week of long waiting, the genetic test results came out. The report indicated that there was a genetic mutation and that targeted drugs could be taken.
Among several treatment options, I chose a combination of oral targeted drugs and vasoactive drugs, considering that my physical condition was poor and my body could not bear chemotherapy. The doctor told me that this treatment plan usually starts to cause resistance after more than one year. If it is resistant, other treatments can be chosen.
Although medical insurance now provides certain reimbursement for drugs for major diseases, the huge medical expenses have also become an obstacle to my treatment. Tumor is a demon that can bankrupt you but cannot be cured.
Picture source: The narrator provides
Drug side effects
The next step is to apply for treatment. Because the information for the first course of treatment was incomplete, my husband bought me the medicine at his own expense of more than 10,000 yuan. Three days after I started taking targeted drugs, red spots began to appear on my face, with scattered white miliary herpes, accompanied by itching. In the days that followed, I realized the pain of illness and what it felt like to live worse than death.
Targeted drugs gradually developed side effects, including large-area ulcers in the mouth, red, swollen, painful and bleeding gums, difficulty opening the mouth , and could only a liquid diet every day, and ice packs were used to numb and relieve the pain in the gums for a long time. Symptoms of diarrhea also followed, with watery stools about 5-6 times a day, sometimes accompanied by severe abdominal pain and burning pain in the anus.
Due to repeated diarrhea, hemorrhoids will also cause trouble, and blood will drip from the anus. Severe itching of the skin all over the body, severe itching on the head and face. The head and face are covered with white herpes-like papules, with pus oozing out and scaling, and the base of the skin is flushed, accompanied by burning and itching pain. His face was so tight that it was difficult to even speak. His face was severely disfigured, his head was so itchy that he had to shave off his hair, which made him completely unrecognizable. He dared not go out and felt very inferior. The itching of the skin worsens at night and is extremely itchy, as if being stung by millions of bees.
I once wanted to give up taking targeted drugs, but thinking about the huge cost, I could only grit my teeth and persevere. The itching was so unbearable that I had to ask my husband to go out and walk around the community with me in the early morning to distract my attention. After taking the targeted drug for about a month, the side effects have been alleviated, but the facial erythema is not easy to subside, and the itching of the rash is still unbearable, so I have to wear a mask and a hat when going out.
My family supported me to go on
After I became ill, I relied heavily on my husband. However, because my husband had to earn money to treat my illness and support the family, he had to leave me and go to work in Jiangsu. My parents-in-law took care of me at home. They treat me like their own child, preparing nutritious and protein-rich food for me every day, accompanying me to see a doctor, and chatting with me.
Everyone cares about me very much. There is true love in the world. I have no reason to give up. As long as there is still a glimmer of hope, I will keep going and hope that a miracle will happen!
At present, I have spent more than two years and seven months safely (I will continue to share my treatment experience in the past two years in a later article) . I can still take care of myself, and usually only have symptoms of dull pain in my lower back.
Who said that late-stage cancer is incurable? As long as you don’t give up, have a strong will to survive, adjust your mentality, and work hard to go on bravely, the future is promising, don’t be trapped in your heart, don’t be confused by your emotions, and don’t be afraid of the future. , don’t dwell on the past and cheer for yourself!
Copyright belongs to the author
* Statement: This article is only for popular science purposes and cannot be used as a basis for treatment. In order to protect patient privacy, the relevant information in the article has been processed. The real experience is the real treatment experience of the author or his family. The copyright belongs to the author and no reproduction is allowed. If you find any errors in the content, please feel free to provide feedback in the message area or backend.
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