Working so hard, eating breaks are never on time
A sumptuous and delicious table, with just the right color, flavor, shape, salt and vinegar, is unimaginable for a woman who was never at home before.
Zhong Lin (a pseudonym) is 51 years old, a middle manager at a well-known university in China, and a typical strong woman.
After graduating from college, Zhong Lin stayed in the school to teach, and no matter how important the task was, she did her best to complete it as long as it was assigned to her by her superiors, and as a result, she continued to win the trust of her leaders and colleagues.
Soon, she was promoted to an important position in the school, and her responsibilities and pressures increased day by day, even when she had time to eat and rest.
Every woman has a few days when she’s not feeling well, but even if she’s not feeling well, Zhong Lin can’t think about it. “When you wake up after a good night’s sleep and face a new day’s work, you have to be energized, and you can’t stop for a day.”
From fear of acceptance to confidence after breast cancer
While her career was becoming more and more like a fish out of water, her body was quietly sounding the alarm.
In October 2017, Zhong Lin was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer during a routine medical screening organized by her school, and the pathological diagnosis from a local tertiary hospital showed “left breast: invasive cancer; left axilla: microscopic fatty tissue.
For the first time in years, the fearless “desperate woman” felt frightened by the sudden onset of an unfamiliar disease.
“When I was first diagnosed, I was often locked in a room by myself and was so depressed and helpless that I didn’t want to say a word to my family for three whole days.” But not eating and drinking is not an option, cancer is a consuming disease, and Zhong Lin must be strong.
With years of experience and polishing, Zhonglin quickly adjusted to the stress and quickly learned about breast cancer while scheduling her work and checkups.
A month later, under the arrangement of her primary care physician, Zhong Lin had a left mastectomy. After the surgery, her doctor started endocrine therapy and told her that recovery from this tumor is like a chronic disease, as long as she sticks to her medication and reviews on time.
The doctor’s affirmation restored Zhonglin’s confidence, and she couldn’t wait to return to work a week after her discharge, still glowing every day and not wanting to feel like a patient who just had malignant cancer surgery. In Zhong Lin’s eyes, the fullness and gain of her work makes her feel happy and confident.
After another tumor, the attending surgeon determined that 80% was metastatic ovarian cancer
After the surgery, Zhong Lin slowly regained her enthusiasm for her work. A breast cancer, like a false alarm, was traumatic for her body, but she was content to live peacefully and began to spend more time with her family.
However, after three months of review results, the breast cancer indicators were fair, but a new tumor was detected, and Zhong Lin was in a funk again, and she even felt her life threatened by the second tumor coming.
Blood test results showed that the result of a tumor marker CA199 was more than four times the normal value, and PET-CT with examination also revealed two low-density shadows in the left ovarian adnexa, a mixed cystic and solid mass in the right adnexa, and a small amount of pelvic fluid, the examination results suggested that the possibility of ovarian cystic adenocarcinoma was not excluded, and the attending doctor thought that 80% was ovarian cancer and there was a possibility of metastasis of the primary tumor. The examination results suggest the possibility of ovarian cancer and metastasis of the primary tumor.
Tumor metastasis?
The doctor said that the patient’s ovarian cancer had metastasized.
She understands that, in general, if a cancer metastasizes, it means a “death sentence”.
“You don’t know where else the tumor cells will appear, and controlling metastatic tumor cells is almost harder than climbing to the top.” Zhong Lin was silent, sighing in her heart at her own ill fortune.
The alarm was lifted, and a famous doctor confirmed that it was a cyst and not cancer
My daughter, who studies in Beijing, suggested that Zhong Lin should go to Beijing, where medical resources are plentiful, and perhaps have a different outcome. In April 2018, Zhong Lin was finally able to get a number from a nationally renowned specialist in gynecologic oncology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the most prestigious hospital in the country that claims to specialize in treating difficult diseases.
“Next up, Zhong Lin.”
The number was called, and outside the clinic, Zhong Lin and her husband, who had just gotten the ultrasound and other test results, entered the clinic and looked at the specialist apprehensively.
The doctor picked up the film and test results and looked at them for a while, and said with certainty and indifference, “80% is not metastasis, nor is it a tumor, but a cyst, nothing major, like a bad fruit on a tree, just take it off and have a minimally invasive surgery.”
Hope was restored.
Zhong Lin and her husband, who accompanied her to the doctor’s appointment, were secretly happy, but there was still concern that the doctors at Concordia could be wrong. The company’s main goal is to provide a better solution to the problem. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
“Mom, the doctors at Concord are the best in the country, so don’t worry about the surgery.” The company’s daughter reassured her to trust the doctor’s judgment.
The picture shows the results of tests at a local hospital in Harbin, suggesting a high probability of ovarian cancer
The picture shows the pathology results from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, which confirmed that the ovarian cyst was not a tumor
Escaping the big one and rethinking the meaning of life
Everything went well, the surgery was completed in the morning, and the hospital discharged Zhong Lin early the next morning.
The hospital discharged Zhong Lin from the hospital early the next morning after she had just had surgery. The company’s main goal is to provide a better solution to the problem.
The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers. The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
Three months later, in July 2018, Zhong Lin came back to the specialist clinic at Peking Union Medical College Hospital for a follow-up consultation. Zhong Lin saw the affable, always smiling specialist again, and still said in a breezy voice, “It’s fine, take your medication on time, nothing special to pay attention to.”
Zhong Lin and her husband were as happy as honey, twice diagnosed with a tumor, twice surviving a disaster, twice coming back from the dead.
Without a few days’ rest in her hometown, Zhong Lin hurried back to work. She said that the school leadership did not keep her from working because she was a patient, and recently arranged a new job for her, and she loves to work and is happy to accept new challenges.
The past year has been a time of great joy and great sorrow. Zhong Lin has learned to cherish it, and in the future she hopes to spend more time with her loved ones and daughter, and she has brought the oncologist who sees her to the college to give talks on breast cancer prevention and treatment to faculty, staff and college students. “In the past, I sacrificed my health for my work, now I won’t force myself to do the work I can’t do, I will take the initiative, which makes me relax a lot in my heart. After all, health is most important.”
Zhonglin feels that this half year with the tumor, he put down a lot, but also considered a blessing in disguise, busy work, sometimes stop for a while, can rethink the meaning of the journey of life, two tumors after, the rest of each day is a gift from God. The work will still be something she enjoys and is interested in, but it will also make her appreciate the moment and the present even more.