Narrator: Xiao Han Hong.
Organizer: Xue Li.
2022 was a magical year for me, I changed jobs and I also had lung cancer. It was extremely hot in Shanghai that summer, but at that time, I only felt like I was falling into a dark ice cave, and the chill of fear spread and I couldn't see the light ahead.
In June 2022, I had a regular entry physical examination because I was going to change jobs, and it was this physical examination that made my life brake urgently and took a big turn.
Late at night on the day of the physical examination, the physical examination center called me ** to inform me that there was a 2cm lung mass in my lungs, which was suspected to be a tumor lesion. I didn't understand these words at that time, I didn't realize the urgency of the physical examination center to give me ** late at night, and I never thought about "cancer", and I didn't think it would be a serious problem in my heart.
The next day, I printed out the relevant materials from the physical examination center step by step, and came to the pulmonary nodules department of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital for further examination. At that time, I thought it was just a small episode in my life, a minor operation, and I would be able to go to work normallyWho would have thought that this was the prelude to my life of "dancing with cancer".
The surgery went smoothly and I was discharged after only 3 days in the hospital. During the hospitalization, the attending doctor did not say much about the condition with me and my lover who had been with me, but insisted on keeping my parents' ** after the operation. Later, I learned from my parents that the doctor told them about my condition at that time, and my parents were over half a hundred years old, and they cried so much that they couldn't stop crying, and they didn't forget to repeatedly emphasize that the doctor should not tell me the real condition.
Just like that, I was discharged from the hospital three days later. The doctor wanted to talk again and again, but told me to wait until the pathological results came out before doing follow-up examinations; My parents came from their hometown to visit me in Shanghai, and their red eyes and cautious and sad expressions when facing me all made me feel a faint uneasiness in my heart. It seems that what I thought was a small episode is slowly getting off the track of life.
Later, from the WeChat record of the conversation between my father and the attending doctor, I learned that I wasStage 3a lung cancerI hurriedly searched for "survival of stage 3a lung cancer" on the Internet, and after checking that the five-year survival rate of stage 3a lung cancer is not high, this feeling of "death is coming" made me feel breathless for a moment.
In the midsummer of July, I couldn't stop shivering, constantly breaking out in a cold sweat, the temperature of 30 degrees fell on me like a cold of minus 30 degrees, my whole body seemed to be drained of all my strength, and I fell softly on the sofa, and the fear and coldness that spread from the bottom of my heart to my whole body swept over me.
My husband saw that my state was not right and hurriedly stepped forward to ask me. At that time, I only felt very frightened and helpless, and I did not even have the strength to speak, how I wished it was all a dream, but I heard my choked and trembling voice very clearlyHusband, I seem to have cancer, and it's still terminal.
Provided by patients.
I don't know how to describe the mood of that week, I just feel that the whole person is muddy, before that, the word "cancer" was just a word I heard from TV dramas, and it seems to be just a "tool" in the bloody romance drama to promote the relationship between the male and female protagonists. Now that I have been chosen as the "heroine" of the story, I realized the weight of "cancer" for the first time when it really fell on me.
"Cancer" is like an unshakable mountain, but this mountain is not pressing on you, but on your life that cannot be shaken, so that you are wrapped in the fear of death all the time. At that time, when I was lying in bed every day, I felt that I was falling downward from body to mind, and my whole body seemed to be stuck in the bed, and I was afraid that I would not be able to open my eyes again.
My husband is by my side all day, and even if he is busy with work, he will find time to chat with me and accompany me for review. In my darkest and lowest days, he made the most solemn promise to me, and when I was desperate to grasp something because of the fear of death, he took my cold hands with the warmest and most powerful hand, and said, "Let's get married." At that moment, there was surprise and emotion, but more than that, it was the full happiness of seeing the truth in this kind of tribulation.
Later, we also bought a house in Shanghai and had our own warm little family, and all of a sudden I felt as if I had a layer of strong armor called "home", wrapped warmly, so that I had a firm goal of fighting cancer and was able to face everything bravelyBecause I will always have a loved one behind me, and there will always be a lamp at home to light for me.
In this way, the people I loved the most were by my side and accompanied me through the most difficult time, and after the pathology report came out, we went to Ruijin Hospital again to start the surgery**.
During my previous hospitalization, the attending physician contacted me for a clinical trial of targeted drugs for EGFR mutationsThe staff at the clinical trial gave me a free genetic testHowever, the process and time are relatively long, and the results are slower. I did it in the meantimeIn-hospital PCR genetic testing, but no genetic mutation was detected, and the doctor was going to arrange chemotherapy for me**.
Since the blood test before chemotherapy** showed that my white blood cells were too low, it was suspected that I might have leukemia, so I had a bone marrow aspirate for further examination, and the final result showed that I did not have leukemia. On the eve of the start of the chemotherapy regimen, I received the genetic test report from the clinical enrollment.
Maybe I was really lucky, although the genetic test results again showed that I did not have an EGFR mutation and could not participate in their clinical enrollment, I was lucky to be detectedRET fusion mutations。The next day, after learning that I had a RET fusion mutation, the attending physician immediately interrupted the chemotherapy regimen and contacted me for a clinical trial of the double-blind enrollment of the RET-targeted drug selpercatinib in Guangzhou.
Before enrollment, the staff of clinical enrollment did it for meThird Genetic Test (NGS)., and the results reaffirmed that I did have a RET fusion mutation. After successfully passing a series of examinations before enrollment, I was officially enrolled in the clinical program, and for personal reasons, I targeted without chemotherapy and started a 9-month round-trip from Shanghai to Guangzhou**.
This clinical enrollment experience made me feel that in addition to luck, there is another pointIt's really important to do genetic testing。Later, I saw an article in the Eagle version of the forum (click to read "How to enjoy the "medical insurance price" of sky-high targeted drugs that are not covered by medical insurance) and think it makes special sense, young female lung cancer patients who do not smoke have a high probability of having driver gene mutations, so IIt is strongly recommended that young female lung cancer patients must do NGS genetic testing if the mutation is not detected by PCR genetic testing in the hospital, and if the economic conditions allow, they must do NGS genetic testing to determine whether there is a possibility of mutation.
Photo.com.
During the postoperative adjuvant period, I have been learning with you in our group of patients who are dancing with cancer, and I have learned a lot about the possible use of targeted drugs, but I have not "taken medicine" at all in the past 9 months, which makes me wonder if I am taking a "placebo".
I learned about some testing institutions from my group friends, so I went for a drug ingredient test, and the results showed that I was using a placebo, so I decisively withdrew from the group. At that time, selpercatinib was also on the market, and I found a way to buy this targeted drug, and officially started my post-operative targeting**.
The drug selpercatinib has not yet entered the medical insurance, and at first I was quite worried that it would cause a financial burden to my family, but I didn't expect that the commercial insurance I bought could reimburse the medical expenses! If it weren't for the insurance, I might still be struggling to spend so much money on targeted drugs**, and whether I would have spent all my family savings to treat me.
NowThe cost of my fight against cancer** can be reimbursed by insurance, and I don't have to worry too much about the treatment affecting the family's living standards, and it is precisely this confidence that allows me to fight cancer more firmly without being affected by too much financial pressureThere is also more energy to focus on your own spiritual level. So I want to convey to you the importance of insuranceInsurance is really a protection against problems
Maybe it's also because I'm younger, my body is good, I have reached ** after the operation, and there are no sequelae, and I have been taking selpercatinib for 10 months after surgery, and there are not too many *** is ** disease, the white blood cells are low, and it is good to take the white injection and take the white medicine**. The rhythm of life disrupted by lung cancer is also back on track little by little under the fight against cancer** and its own business.
Looking back on my experience of fighting cancer, I feel that I was very lucky from the beginning, and I met a very responsible doctor when I first visited Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. My attending doctor is actually a young doctor, I am also his first patient to have lung cancer surgery, although I think about it a little now, but the attending doctor's skills are actually very good, probably because I am his first patient, he is very careful and patient, my postoperative wound is very small, and the recovery is very good.
During the whole process, I can feel that the doctor is carefully analyzing each patient's condition, and at the same time formulating a plan according to each patient's own characteristics. Especially when I was hospitalized, my husband and I had not yet obtained a license, and the doctor was worried that telling my husband about my true condition would affect our relationship, so he insisted on contacting my parents to inform him of the conditionI was very touched by this humanistic care in the detailsI also later sent a pennant to the attending doctor, and I really appreciate my attending doctor.
And during the period when I was depressed after surgery, because I had a new job at that timeThe sense of busyness and fulfillment that my new job brings to me has gradually diluted my fear of illness and given me the opportunity to divert my attentionDon't pay too much attention to words like "cancer" and "survival", and put more energy into your new work. It was also this change in mentality that allowed me to quickly get out of the haze brought by lung cancer, and after a month of depression, I was able to gradually take control of life again.
Because of this cancer, I began to re-examine my life, as if I had been busy chasing many unattainable goals before, and now it seems that it is somewhat "mediocre and self-disturbing", but after experiencing this serious illness, I can see more clearlyActually, I want it to be very simpleIt is to live every day healthily and safely, and be grateful for every bit of "little luck" in life. Maybe this is also a kind of "Buddhism", that is, contentment and happiness.
Now I pay more attention to my health. I will go to the gym regularly to check in and exercise, and after each exercise, I feel that my cardiopulmonary function seems to be refreshed, and my whole body and mind have been purified in the sweat of exercise, and the sense of transparency and accomplishment after running is something I can't get from other places, that feeling is amazing! This year, I also set a small sports goal for myself, to participate in the women's marathon in March, and I hope I can sign up for the lottery!
Now I will focus more on my own life, run my small family well, and live happily every day。Like I can now welcome the new sunrise every day, have a satisfactory job to be busy every day, return to my warm home every day to see the people I love, work hard every day to enrich myself, do regular reviews to maintain a good physical condition, and give love every day is also full of happiness, these are not the blessings of life, but also the real and beautiful life that belongs to us.
So dear comrades-in-arms, each and every one of you is great, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Although it is unfortunate for us to suffer from cancer, but looking at it from another angle, in fact, in this process, the fragments of happiness that have not been noticed by us are enlarged little by little, spliced together, and pieced together into a solid shield for us to shield us from the wind and rain. Under the protection of the shield of love, we can continue to work hard, adhere to the best, manage our lives with our hearts, and splice every bit of effort into the road of hope, so that we can walk steadily and firmly step by step towards the distance of hope!
Note: ** in the text is for patients, and it is forbidden to use it without permission.
Lung cancer patient experience