In the provincial capital, in the thoracic surgery ward, Xia Hua sat quietly. (Note 1)
He tried his best, but fate was not in his favour.
My father was lying on the hospital bed, so thin that he had almost no fat. Because of the esophageal tumor, I haven't eaten for a long time and the person has entered the terminal stage.
Originally, when the disease was first discovered last year, he was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. Xia Hua's father firmly refused surgical treatment and subsequent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and targeted drug treatment.
He wanted to see the great rivers and mountains of his motherland.
Under the care of Xia Hua and his wife, the old man got his wish.
It took three months and I visited seven or eight provinces intermittently. After he returned to the provincial capital, he thought about leaving like this.
Xia Hua was unwilling to give in. He found Gao Shaojie and wanted to try the least invasive method to see if he could extend the old man's life.
A small amount of chemotherapy drug infusion chemotherapy + radiofrequency ablation can shrink the tumor tissue. Although he has not recovered, his life expectancy can be extended by about another year.
This is the result Xia Hua needs.
But an unexpected situation occurred.
Two months ago, Xia Hua's father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. (Note 2)
The cruelest thing is not to fall into the abyss of despair from the beginning. But after giving a certain amount of hope, things seemed to be getting better, but in fact they got worse in an inadvertent moment.
You can die of illness, but you can't starve to death. This is Xia Hua's bottom line.
The old man refused radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and this time he even refused the subsequent lung surgery, although radiofrequency ablation did not cause him any substantial harm.
When people are desperate, they always give up on themselves, hoping that all these bad things will end soon.
He refused all treatment, not even sugar and salt water.
Mr. Xia was already in a coma. Only then did Xia Hua leave him a PICC pipe. He always felt that there was still a way. If it ends like this, Xia Hua will be unwilling to do so.
Although letting go is a good idea so that the old man can suffer less, but as long as the children can contribute, no one is willing to let go.
"Dang Dang Dang~" There was a knock on the door.
Xia Hua wiped his face with his hands to refresh himself. He stood up, opened the door and saw Gao Shaojie. He forced a smile and whispered: "Professor Gao, let's talk outside."
"Xiao Xia, I watched the movie." Gao Shaojie said after walking out of the ward: "It's a bit late. The old man still has heart disease. It will be very difficult to remove the esophageal stent."
"Professor Gao, how confident do you think you are?" Xia Hua asked.
"If you can accept sudden death on the operating table, I can give it a try." Gao Shaojie said.
Xia Hua was a little confused.
As a doctor, he has said this method of explanation countless times to patients' families.
But when he became a patient's family member and his identities were switched, he immediately felt that this kind of explanation could be said to be the most asshole type of communication.
But this is the fact, Gao Shaojie also tells the truth, he knows it in his heart.
Long-term malnutrition, cardiopulmonary failure, and malignant tumors of the esophagus located near the heart.
When the esophageal stent is opened, the malignant tumor will definitely touch the heart.
A small squeeze may cause arrhythmia and other complications. These are what Professor Gao Shaojie Gao said.
Xia Hua's face looked ugly. He had not relaxed and had a rest for too long, which had exhausted his energy and strength.
"Xiao Xia, just do your best. But you should have a good rest and don't make you sick." Gao Shaojie gently patted Xia Hua's shoulder and comforted him.
"Professor Gao, I know. As for the risk..." Xia Hua was about to say that he could bear it, but paused at the last moment.
Gao Shaojie also knew Xia Hua's psychology. He sighed and said, "Let me ask Lao Liu, what do you think?"
"Professor Yanagisawa Weiliu? Where has he gone?" Xia Hua asked.
"I went to study with Boss Zheng, the doctor you met on the plane when you took your old man out for fun last year." Gao Shaojie said.
In the past six months, Xia Hua had spent all his energy on his father's treatment and care, and he didn't know much about other things.
"Sorry to trouble you." Xia Hua said gratefully.
Although he had doubts about why a professor of Liu Zewei's level was still studying, he just thought about it briefly and stopped thinking about things that had nothing to do with him.
Gao Shaojie comforted Xia Hua a few more words, then took the photo and sent it to Liu Zewei.
Lao Liu has been studying for several months, and his level may have skyrocketed. Gao Shaojie's mood was a little complicated. Should he go to study
…
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"Boss Zheng, Lao Gao has sent me a video. Can you take a look at it?" Liu Zewei had a headache after watching the video. He thought it would be difficult to treat it.
But after living in the imperial capital for a long time, I habitually gave up the right to make the final diagnosis to Zheng Ren.
"Oh? What patient?" Zheng Ren spent the afternoon sunbathing and reading in the system library. He came out and asked after hearing Liu Zewei's words.
"Lung cancer is in the late stage, esophageal cancer is in the late stage." Liu Zewei said briefly and comprehensively, and then sent the film to Zheng Ren.
Zheng Ren took his mobile phone and opened the image data.
Lung CT showed that the patient's lung cancer seemed to be well treated and he underwent tumor reduction surgery.
The so-called tumor debulking surgery refers to a method that reduces part of the tumor that cannot be surgically removed and extends the patient's survival by 6-12 months.
The mediastinal lymph nodes have metastasized, and Zheng Ren estimates that the survival period is about 6 months, which is the longest expectation.
The advanced stage of lung cancer is not fatal at present. What is fatal is that there is a 6×3cm tumor in the middle and lower part of the esophagus, which has almost blocked the esophagus.
Upper gastrointestinal tract imaging does not use barium, which is difficult to swallow and has poor fluidity, but oral meglumine diatrizoate.
Even if it is liquid, it does not flow smoothly. There is only a slight gap, and it is hard to say whether the super-smooth guidewire can penetrate this narrow area.
If it is completely blocked, the esophageal stent will definitely not be inserted.
The time this patient can be entangled and hesitant is not long, only about 1 week at most.
Moreover, one week is a relatively reluctant statement. Zheng Ren has not seen the medical records and does not know how long the patient's tumor has grown.
If it is a more aggressive esophageal tumor, the esophagus may be completely blocked in about 3 days, leaving no chance for an esophageal stent to be inserted.
Of course, this is only part of the problem. The main problem is that the tumor is located near the heart. After the stent is inserted, the tumor will have a certain impact on the heart.
Note 1: In Chapter 172, Boss Zheng went to the imperial capital for the first time and met the doctor on the plane who was traveling with an old man with terminal lung cancer.
Note 2: He is an old patient of mine who underwent lung cancer surgery in early 2011 and esophageal cancer surgery in June 2011. I recovered well after the operation, but I climbed a mountain in 2017 at an altitude of 4,000 meters, which damaged my cardiopulmonary function and now I have asthma.