Wang Yonggui (a pseudonym), 40, is a young and promising private entrepreneur in a county in a central province.
Born into an ordinary peasant family and suffering from poverty since childhood, the factory he started as an adult has become a local pillar. The company’s success was not easy to achieve from scratch.
But as many entrepreneurs do, he was so busy with his work that he neglected to warn his body. He was fortunate to regain his life after a tortuous experience that took him from hepatitis B to advanced liver cancer, which almost cost him everything.
The proportion of hepatitis B carriers in China is high, and if patients receive standardized antiviral therapy, not all hepatitis patients will progress to cirrhosis or even liver cancer, which is highly malignant and progresses rapidly, and should receive standardized treatment as soon as it is diagnosed and cannot afford any delay.
“Inconspicuous” hepatitis B left behind, smoking and drinking ended up in liver cancer
A medical checkup 10 years ago revealed that Wang Yonggui had a hepatitis B virus infection, and his doctor told him to go to the infection department of a regular hospital to get a clear picture of the virus replication and receive a standardized course of antiviral treatment.
At that time, Wang Yonggui’s career was on the rise, with factory orders coming in one batch after another, and he was traveling around the country every day. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
When I was in the midst of a business meeting, I had to smoke and drink with customers.
With the hepatitis B virus, in the company of cigarettes and wine, he carried the company to a new level in two years and became a leading local enterprise.
The second time the physical examination was drawn, the blood results indicated that the transaminase and bilirubin levels were slightly higher than normal, and the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus was still positive. The physical examination center again recommended: immediate access to a specialist hospital and regular use of antiviral medications and changes in poor lifestyle habits.
This time, Wang Yonggui took the doctor’s advice and went to the infection department of the county hospital to get a specialist number and to see Dr. Ma, the most senior local infection specialist, to evaluate his condition. After the consultation, Wang Yonggui was clearly diagnosed with chronic viral hepatitis B and compensated cirrhosis.
Dr. Ma prescribed antiviral and liver-protective drugs for Wang Yonggui, and repeatedly advised him to take his medication regularly for a long time, to go to the hospital regularly to review his viral load, liver function and abdominal ultrasound, and to emphasize that he must change his lifestyle habits, drink less, smoke less, stay up less, and rest!
But the increasingly busy business made it impossible for him to stop, and then for nearly five years, Wang Yonggui only took medication intermittently, and went to the pharmacy to buy his own liver-protecting drugs to take orally when he was unwell. The more the business gets bigger, the busier the work gets, and the more frequent the smoking and drinking.
Three years ago, Wang Yonggui drank heavily at a banquet and felt severe pain in his upper right abdomen that lasted for two days without relief. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers. This time, the persistent pain caused Wang Yonggui to be alerted.
He found Dr. Ma again, an ultrasound examination suggested a 3*2cm occupying lesion on the right half of his liver, and blood tests revealed abnormally elevated AFP levels. Combined with years of hepatitis and a background of alcohol consumption and smoking, Dr. Ma considered that the mass on Wang Yonggui’s liver might be primary liver cancer.
Dr. Ma immediately prescribed an enhanced CT scan of the upper abdomen, which showed that the liver mass had a “fast-in, fast-out” pattern (i.e., the contrast-enhanced density of the liver mass rose and then fell rapidly after contrast injection), and combined with tumor indicators and a history of hepatitis, the clinical diagnosis – primary liver cancer. -primary hepatocellular carcinoma!
Wang Yonggui this time completely panicked, did not expect this usually only in the newspaper news “terminal disease” was encountered by their own, it is estimated that his life is not long!
Six months delayed for a commercial insurance policy, losing the best chance for a radical cure
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Wang Yonggui did not follow Dr. Ma’s advice to go to a higher level hospital for a full examination for surgery, but immediately went home to make arrangements for the aftermath, wrote a suicide note, distributed the family’s assets, and went to Shanghai to buy a large commercial medical insurance. The purchase of the insurance completely concealed his illness through various means.
Because of the large amount of insurance he purchased, the observation period was up to six months.
In order to avoid the insurance company discovering the fact that he was already seriously ill during the observation period, Wang Yonggui did not dare to go to a major hospital during this six-month period, and only took some Chinese medicine from an acquaintance in his hometown.
After the six-month observation period, Wang Yonggui went to a large tertiary hospital in the provincial capital, where PET-CT results showed that his right liver tumor had grown from 3*2cm when it was first discovered to 10*8cm, with portal vein thrombosis, retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, and lung metastasis.
The hospital’s doctors told Mr. Wang and his relatives that Wang Yonggui had advanced liver cancer and had lost the best chance for radical treatment such as surgery, and that his survival would not be long, estimated to be only six months. At this point, Mr. Wang had mixed feelings, not expecting that he had worked hard all his life, but in exchange for such an end. He went home and bought a ticket to a country in Africa, ready to spend his last days in the pristine African savannah.
Interventional, targeted, and radiation therapy combined in a multipronged approach to regain hope for surgery
However, Wang Yonggui’s wife didn’t give up. She actively looked up authoritative hospitals and doctors in China through various means in order to give her lover a chance to see a doctor.
In the end, after much persuasion from his family, Wang Yonggui, accompanied by his wife, came to a tertiary hospital in Shanghai that features hepatobiliary surgery with various test results and a last hope.
The doctors have taken a medical history and laboratory tests and concluded that there are no indications for radical surgery, but that does not mean that there is no hope for Wang Yonggui. The newest and most recent addition to the list is a new one.
After hearing the doctor’s words, Wang Yonggui’s family immediately felt a sense of hope, sweeping away the despair in front of them. The patient’s family was able to find a way to improve the quality of life of the patient, and the MDT team was brought in to discuss the next step of treatment.
After 6 weeks of treatment, imaging evaluation suggested a significant reduction in liver tumor volume, but local tumor activity remained; lung metastases and retroperitoneal lymph nodes were slightly smaller than before; and the inferior vena cava cancer thrombus had increased in size.
The hospital’s liver cancer MDT team again discussed and decided to apply the hospital’s newest radiofrequency knife (part of stereotactic body radiation therapy) to treat the liver tumor and inferior vena cava thrombus with local precision radiation and to continue targeted therapy. After four months of multiple rounds of MDT with multiple protocols, the liver tumor, inferior vena cava cancer thrombus, and retroperitoneal lymph nodes were inactive, the lung metastases disappeared, and Wang Yonggui’s physical condition was good.
At this point, Wang Yonggui was given a renewed surgical opportunity to undergo surgical treatment. After the “liver tumor resection + inferior vena cava thrombectomy + retroperitoneal lymph node dissection”, he recovered well and continues to take targeted drugs and antiviral medication to this day.
Postscript:
Two and a half years have passed since we bought our tickets to Africa. After the collaborative treatment by the hospital’s liver cancer MDT team, Wang Yonggui is recovering well, with no signs of recurrence on regular reviews, and is still working normally and managing a large business.
He was clearly fortunate to have missed at least three important diagnostic and treatment opportunities during his 10-year disease course, but seized the last chance to save his life.
The first: hepatitis B infection 10 years ago
If you had gone to an infection unit immediately after the first detection of hepatitis B virus infection and received standardized diagnostic treatment, you might not have progressed rapidly to cirrhosis in two years.
Second: Hepatitis B combined with cirrhosis 8 years ago
The rate of progression of cirrhosis to liver cancer is less than 3%. When hepatitis combined with cirrhosis is found again on physical examination, it may not eventually progress to liver cancer if you follow your doctor’s advice: take antiviral drugs regularly for a long time, go to the hospital regularly to review viral load, liver function and abdominal ultrasound, change your lifestyle habits, smoke less, drink less, stay up less, and take rest.
Third time: early stage of small liver cancer 3 years ago
Wang Yonggui’s first CT scan revealed that he had primary liver cancer, which was only 3*2 cm in size and did not show any other metastases, and was still a small liver cancer with an early stage and a five-year survival rate of more than 80 percent after radical surgery. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.
Fourth: Advanced large liver cancer 2 1/2 years ago
Even advanced liver cancer doesn’t mean a death sentence. As long as the professional team works together to treat the patient, and the patient and family don’t give up, long-term survival is possible. The first time I saw him, I was able to find a professional team to provide comprehensive treatment and long-term survival, just like Wang Yonggui, who missed three opportunities.
When a disease is diagnosed and treated, the protocol comes first. If you follow the instructions of your doctor, you can still be cured, even if you have cancer.