Chemotherapy, hair loss …… When cancer is mentioned, most people will associate these frightening words. However, in April this year, the Chinese Journal of General Surgery, Pan Wensheng, chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Zhejiang Medical Second Hospital, published a paper on “very small gastric cancer”, which brought better treatment techniques for gastric cancer patients, and Pan was also elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Medical Technology Application Committee of the Chinese Hospital Association not long ago. The first time the concept of “very small” is proposed, “According to the current common technology, the earlier gastric cancer is found to be about 1 cm in diameter, which is called ‘a little cancer’ in traditional medicine.” Dr. Pan said, according to the traditional treatment method, after using 5 mm diameter sampling forceps to take “deep-digging” samples, it is very likely that the cancer cells will be taken out directly, which will lead to the inability to get accurate information of the patient’s tumor during post-operative pathological analysis. This will not only lead to suspicion of the patient’s family, but also cause potential medical disputes. So, since January 2004, Dr. Pan and his partners have been researching how to find smaller cancers and what techniques can be used to reduce the pain of patients and their families. Over the past 4 years, Dr. Pan has researched 296 cases of early gastric cancer and introduced the concept of “very small gastric cancer” for the first time in China. The diameter of this kind of gastric cancer is only 2 mm, the size of a grain of rice, and it is difficult to be detected. At the same time, Dr. Pan and others have developed a secret to deal with “very small gastric cancer”. Firstly, the tumor is found through gastroscopy; then a small bite is taken for biopsy with sampling forceps around the tumor; the remaining stomach cancer is “kept” in the body for 1-2 weeks; then the long cancerous part is surgically removed; finally, the pathological analysis is used to determine whether chemotherapy is needed. Seize the best time to treat stomach cancer Just two weeks ago, an 83-year-old patient received a new surgical treatment from Dr. Pan, and the healing result was satisfactory. About a month ago, the old man suddenly felt upset in his stomach and was found to have an ulcer through gastroscopy. Further samples were taken and it turned out that there were cancer cells. Although the stomach cancer was only 2 mm, some of the cancer cells were highly malignant. When they first learned the news, the family members were anxious and worried that the old man’s body could not bear the chemotherapy. A week after the biopsy, the old man underwent surgery. After section analysis, the tumor was not highly malignant and did not spread or metastasize, so chemotherapy was not needed. Dr. Pan said, “The detection and treatment of ‘very small gastric cancer’ not only can reduce the pain of patients, but also can seize the best treatment time for gastric cancer patients.”