The 72-year-old oncologist suffered from cancer and died after going to the United States to fight cancer for a year. His 2 reflections should be taken as a warning

In most cases, doctors are in the role of curing and saving people, helping patients get rid of the pain of disease. But at the same time, they also suffer from diseases and cancer just like ordinary people.

But because of the role of "doctors", when they face cancer, they will have different thoughts and reflections than ordinary people.

The old man Xiao Jiu shared with you today, although he is not a clinical doctor, he graduated from a medical university and is engaged in biomedical research and cancer-related medical research.

As a medical expert, he unfortunately suffered from glandular non-small cell lung cancer, so he embarked on a difficult and tortuous road to fight cancer.

Just when he passed through many hurdles and was about to be full of hope for defeating cancer, due to the emergence of drug resistance, the disease recurred, and finally he left after fighting cancer for a year.

And he wrote out his anti-cancer process - "Lou Qinyuan Treats Lung Cancer in the United States", which is worth taking a lesson from, raising everyone's vigilance against lung cancer, and taking precautions as soon as possible.

Source: Health News Culture Channel

1. Going to the United States to fight cancer, but it is difficult

01. Diagnosed with lung cancer after coughing for half a year, and went to the United States for treatment

Since the first half of 2017, Lou Qinyuan has felt throat discomfort from time to time. He always feels that there is some phlegm in the deep trachea. He has to cough hard to feel better . But Lou Qinyuan always felt that it was not a big problem, so he didn't go to the hospital.

From the end of July to the beginning of August, the cough intensified, the amount of phlegm increased, and the throat often felt itchy.

In mid-October, a doctor's friend forced me to do a CT scan, which showed that the left lung effusion increased, the hilar shadow expanded, and the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) exceeded the normal index by more than 6 times. After further workup, he was diagnosed with non-small cell adenocarcinoma of the lung.

But he did not give up hope for treatment. In November, he went to the Anderson Cancer Center, the world's best cancer center, to determine the treatment plan, using Keytruda (the first-line antibody anticancer drug approved by the US FDA in recent years, K drug) treatment plan.

02. Use the "life-saving medicine", but was told that there are only 3 months left

It is understood that Lou Qinyuan regards K drug as a life-saving drug because it has a good effect on tumors expressing PD-L1.

But Lou Qinyuan overlooked one point, that is the side effects of drugs. During the treatment, Lou Qinyuan developed interstitial pneumonia, and his physical condition became very bad . He had difficulty breathing and was extremely weak.

The doctor told him that if there is no effective treatment, Lou Qinyuan's life expectancy is only 3 months.

03. Risk reduction, just to participate in clinical trials

In desperation, Lou Qinyuan reduced his medication without authorization, suspended the treatment of interstitial pneumonia, and planned to go to Houston to participate in the LOXO-292 clinical trial to seek a new chance to survive.

After arriving at the destination, the doctor arranged a whole-brain MRI examination for Lou Qinyuan. But Lou Qinyuan's body could hardly support him to lie down. After lying down, his chest was severely blocked. After finally being able to sit up, Lou Qinyuan coughed violently until his eyes turned black, as if he wanted to die.

In the end, Lou Qinyuan still failed. Because the doctor believes that LOXO-292 is likely to aggravate the interstitial pneumonia in his body, he can only continue to receive cabozantinib treatment.

04. Almost failed, and finally successfully participated in the test

In this way, Lou Qinyuan celebrated his 70th birthday. Perhaps it is the answer to the sentence, "The mountains and rivers are full of doubts, and there is another village." After treatment, Lou Qinyuan's interstitial pneumonia was cured. At this time, under the doctor's advice, he reapplied for the clinical trial.

This time, he decided to take a different approach and give up LOXO-292, but chose to apply to participate in the clinical trial of Blu-667. This time, Lou Qinyuan succeeded. On March 28, 2018, Lou Qinyuan took the first blue capsule and really entered the Phase I clinical trial of Blu-667.

05. Cough up tumor tissue and gradually recover

Although the process is rough, Lou Qinyuan is gradually recovering:

• During the first month of treatment, symptoms recurred in April 2018;
• In May, the tumor tissue was coughed up, the symptoms of chest tightness improved, and I was able to lie down and sleep;
• In June, CEA (a biomarker of malignancy) dropped to the normal range;
• In July, CT showed that the tumor had shrunk by half, and the treatment effect was remarkable;
• In August, pericardial effusion and pericardial fenestration surgery were performed, after which Lou Qinyuan's cough symptoms completely disappeared;
• In September, physical fitness gradually became normal, walking was no longer hindered, and jogging was still possible.

But just when this difficult anti-cancer experience was about to usher in hope, in November, Lou Qinyuan's condition began to recur again, and the tumor continued to grow, which meant that drug resistance had developed and the drug needed to be stopped . After that, he became bedridden, the cancer cells metastasized, and finally died in the United States on February 15, 2019.

2. "If only I could pay attention to the symptoms earlier"

Mr. Lou Qinyuan's tenacious anti-cancer journey deserves the admiration of Lou Qinyuan. With his excellent medical knowledge, he tried to fight off cancer. Although he failed in the end, the reflections he left are worthy of everyone. learn a lesson.

1. Ignoring early-stage lung cancer symptoms

Lou QinyuanBefore being diagnosed with lung cancer, he had been coughing for more than half a year, but he didn't pay attention to it. During this period, his friends urged him to check it out, but he didn't go there. Instead, he chose to strengthen his lungs and cure his cough with strengthening exercises.

2. Overconfidence in your body

At the same time, he believes that he is a strong and healthy person, has been actively participating in exercise, and does not smoke or drink, so it is impossible for him to be related to lung cancer . But it was also this carelessness and self-confidence that made him lose the opportunity to diagnose lung cancer early.

And if Mr. Lou can be diagnosed and treated early, perhaps the later tragedy will not occur.

3. How much do you know about the early symptoms of lung cancer?

If lung cancer can be detected early, what are the chances of being cured?

Generally speaking, the cure rate of early stage lung cancer, especially tumors <1cm, is over 90% after standard surgical treatment ; if the tumor grows to 3-5cm, the cure rate is also about 70%. The further the disease progresses, the lower the cure rate. . It can be seen how important the early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer is.

However, many people choose to ignore the early symptoms of lung cancer, which eventually leads to the development of lung cancer to be discovered at an advanced stage, which affects the final curative effect.

What are the early manifestations of lung cancer?

Usually, the first symptom of more than 50% of lung cancer patients is cough . It is different from the cough caused by common colds. It is an irritating dry cough with no sputum. Some patients may have hemoptysis, mostly bloody sputum or blood in the sputum .

Professor Li Junling, Chief Physician of the Department of Internal Medicine, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences reminded: If a person who smokes for a long time has persistent dry cough, and conventional treatment for more than 2 weeks has no effect; or has a history of chronic respiratory disease, inexplicable persistent cough, or cough Changes in nature, we must be alert to lung cancer, it is recommended to seek medical examination in time.

In addition to cough, the more common manifestations of lung cancer include expectoration, blood in the sputum, breathing obstruction, chest pain, hoarseness, unexplained fatigue, weight loss and other symptoms.

In view of the high incidence of lung cancer, it is best for everyone to improve their awareness of prevention, especially to quit smoking as soon as possible, reduce frying and cooking, use range hoods, exercise actively, work and rest regularly, eat a balanced diet, and maintain a good mood.

Of course, the most effective way is to regularly check high-risk groups:

① Have a family history of lung cancer

②Smoking ≥ 20 packs/year, quit smoking < 15 years

③Have pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis and COPD

④Have a history of occupational exposure, such as exposure to carcinogens such as asbestos and uranium

⑤ Long-term exposure to second-hand smoke

The above-mentioned high-risk groups of lung cancer should be highly vigilant against lung cancer. It is recommended to perform low-dose spiral CT on a regular basis, and then intervene according to the examination results.

Although lung cancer is scary, it is preventable and treatable. If it can be detected and treated early, the treatment effect is still good. Therefore, people with high incidence of lung cancer must be vigilant and do a good job in prevention, so as to avoid being found by it.

References:

[1] "Lou Qinyuan Treats Lung Cancer in the United States (Full Text)". Health News Culture Channel. 2018-10-31

[2] "The first symptom of more than half of lung cancer patients is cough, don't delay to see a doctor until late". Health Times. 2020-01-13

[3] "The founder of Shell died of lung cancer at the age of 50! These inconspicuous early symptoms must be paid attention to...". Popular Science China. 2021-05-21

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