I Can Hear the Heart's Voice of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Chapter 473: Chapter 198: Chemotherapy Is Fierce as a Tiger—A Misstep Leads to the Grave

But just as he was about to speak, Ji Xiuwen swallowed the words back down.

...

Soon after, a knock on the door broke the silence in the Lu family home.

"Sister-in-law, it’s me."

Upon hearing Lu Ran’s voice, Lin Fangling quickly opened the door, and seeing Old Lu, Lu Qinian, standing behind her with a slightly gloomy expression, Fangling’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly welcomed her sister-in-law, Lu Ran, inside.

"Aunt, could I see Grandpa’s examination report?"

At the sight of Lu Ran, Lu Xuan didn’t even have time to greet Grandpa Lu Qinian before his eyes quickly settled on her.

"Xiaoxuan?"

As soon as she saw Lu Xuan, Lu Ran was startled, a note of surprise in her voice: "When did you come back? How come I didn’t know? I didn’t hear you say you were coming back; I thought you weren’t coming for the holiday."

Lu Xuan didn’t have a chance to explain before Lin Yongzhen stepped forward to Lu Ran: "Aunt, could I see Grandpa’s examination report?"

"Yongzhen is here too?"

Looking at Lin Yongzhen rushing to her side, Lu Ran quickly pulled up the examination report on her phone and handed it directly to Lin Yongzhen: "Take a look. City First Hospital also called me and explained the situation a bit."

Lin Yongzhen nodded and began examining the report on the phone.

At that moment, Lu Xuan also stepped forward quickly.

Seeing Lu Xuan approach, Lin Yongzhen spoke softly, "There are issues with the CT and colonoscopy, as well as with the barium meal test. It’s duodenal adenocarcinoma. This disease typically shows no evident symptoms in the early stage but may present with upper abdominal pain, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, anemia, and jaundice."

Seemingly concerned that Lu Xuan, who studied traditional Chinese medicine, might not be very informed about such specific cancers as duodenal adenocarcinoma, Lin Yongzhen explained, "Clinically, this disease is generally divided into four stages. Stage I: The tumor is confined to the duodenal wall; Stage II: The tumor has penetrated the duodenal wall; Stage III: The tumor has regional lymph node metastasis; Stage IV: The tumor has distant metastasis.

Based on the examination results, Grandpa seems to be in Stage I, which isn’t too severe."

Saying this, Lin Yongzhen glanced at everyone, especially Old Lu, Lu Qinian, then pulled Lu Xuan aside and said quietly, "Xiaoxuan, although I didn’t specialize in gastroenterology, I’ve gained some knowledge about it over time. A department head at our Second Provincial Hospital mentioned this condition during a conference.

The recommended treatment for duodenal adenocarcinoma is primarily radical resection, with procedures depending on the tumor’s location and stage, including duodenal segmental resection or pancreaticoduodenectomy.

For tumors that cannot be resected, palliative procedures like biliary or gastrointestinal drainage can be performed. Pancreaticoduodenectomy is commonly used for duodenal cancer, with a 5-year survival rate of 25% to 60% post-surgery.

A combination of surgical treatment and adjunct radiotherapy can enhance outcomes for some patients with duodenal adenomas, using high-energy radiation or other particles to kill or control cancer cells.

Beyond the relatively common methods mentioned, there are also chemotherapies, targeted treatments, and interventional therapies available.

I believe we should act quickly while Grandpa is still in good health and the disease is newly detected and has not advanced to Stage II, to begin treatment early. Otherwise, once it spreads to the lymph nodes—excuse me for being blunt—it might just be a matter of waiting for the end."

This was Lu Xuan’s first encounter with duodenal adenocarcinoma. Listening to Lin Yongzhen’s explanation gave him a preliminary understanding of the disease. However, compared to the surgical and chemotherapy treatments Yongzhen mentioned, he was more inclined towards using traditional Chinese medicine.

Especially since it was just discovered and hadn’t progressed to a severe stage, relying entirely on traditional Chinese medicine could treat it, confining the cancer within a small range, preventing its spread and metastasis, and perhaps even shrinking the tumor significantly through such treatments.

By doing this, one wouldn’t have to endure much suffering and could live like a normal person.

But if treated with Western methods, surgery plus chemotherapy, the survival rate wouldn’t be high, and one would suffer.

Not to mention the surgery, especially the chemotherapy.

It’s a choice that harms oneself more than the enemy—originally, one could survive three to five years or even longer without treatment, but after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, surviving even three years could be considered lucky, with those years spent also being plagued by the pain of chemotherapy.

Many cancer patients die from fear of cancer itself.

But a large portion of them do not die from cancer itself but from the treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which severely deplete the body’s primordial Qi, causing some who could have lived three to five years to only survive a year or even less.

Regarding cancer, Lu Xuan leaned more towards traditional Chinese medicine treatment plans.

However, since Lin Yongzhen had spoken, it wasn’t easy for him to immediately reject it. As he was about to discuss traditional Chinese medicine’s perspective on cancer with his cousin who specialized in Western medicine, Grandpa Lu Qinian spoke up, "Just say what you have to say, what are you two whispering about over there?"

"Yongzhen, your aunt already told me about my condition on the way. No need to hide it from me. Even though you’re not a child of our Lu family, you’ve always been close with Xiaoxuan since childhood. I consider you half a grandson as well. You’re a doctor; tell me, how should this disease be treated?"

Lin Yongzhen wanted to chat more with Lu Xuan, but upon hearing Lu Qinian’s words, he swallowed back his words, thought for a moment, and said to Lu Qinian: "Grandpa Lu, although it’s duodenal adenocarcinoma, you’re fortunate that it’s only in Stage I. With active treatment, there’s no need to worry."

"Surgery?"

"Chemotherapy?"

Lu Qinian asked, frowning.

"Yes."

Lin Yongzhen nodded.

"Forget about surgery and chemotherapy; if it’s chemotherapy, I’d rather not treat it at all."

Lu Qinian directly refused the surgical and chemotherapy plan mentioned by Lin Yongzhen.

Lin Yongzhen was taken aback by how decisively Lu Qinian rejected the surgical chemotherapy treatment plan. After a moment of thought, he tried to persuade him: "Grandpa Lu, it’s still in the early stage; with surgical chemotherapy treatment, recovery is very likely. Besides, you’re not that old yet. If you were older, I wouldn’t even suggest surgical chemotherapy.

I know you have concerns. It’s true that surgical chemotherapy has some side effects, but many patients with this disease have controlled their conditions well through such treatments, with many not experiencing any metastasis.

The issues with those who didn’t get better also have their reasons."

Lin Yongzhen explained, "According to some medical analyses, there are several reasons why the results of chemotherapy can vary: first, patients who undergo chemotherapy are often in late stages of cancer with low survival rates to begin with; second, survival rates differ vastly depending on cancer type—breast cancer patients have a survival rate more than four times higher than lung cancer patients with chemotherapy; third, there are limitations in medicine, as not all types of organ cancer treatments are at the same level; continuous scientific research is required for some. Lastly, attitude matters greatly—a severe mood swing from a positive state at diagnosis to hopelessness can enable the disease to take advantage, offering no help to the condition.

If the patient is inherently opposed to chemotherapy, the treatment outcome will not likely be favorable."

"My mind is made up. No need to say any more. If it involves surgical chemotherapy, I won’t undergo the treatment."

Lu Qinian waved his hand, outright rejecting Lin Yongzhen’s suggestion.

At his age, he had witnessed too much.

Countless elderly folks in his village around his age had been diagnosed with cancer, went through surgical chemotherapy, and suffered immensely, only to pass away after a year or two, sometimes even less than a year.

Moreover, in hospitals, it’s common to see patients post-chemotherapy, mostly emaciated, pale-faced, with severe hair loss issues, severely impacting their health. If the survival chances after chemotherapy are low and the process is painful, why would anyone choose chemotherapy?

Besides, when Lu Ran told him it was duodenal adenocarcinoma, he had already looked into chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy, as the name suggests, involves chemical drug treatment, using drugs to kill cancer cells, achieving treatment objectives. It is also currently recognized as one of the best methods to combat cancer.

However, that’s just consensus among Western medicine practitioners, not necessarily among the majority.

From what Lu Qinian understood, chemotherapy is a harsh, indiscriminate method that damages both good and bad cells, affecting human health. Some families have questioned why, when someone was healthy, they became frail after undergoing chemotherapy.

"Chemotherapy is as fierce as a tiger; one misstep, and you end up in the ground." It’s not said without reason.