A case of liver and lung metastasis from rectal cancer: a 70-year-old man’s anti-cancer experience

Because the early symptoms of rectal cancer are not obvious, and when they do appear, they are not specific, it is very easy to be ignored and misdiagnosed. The most direct consequence of delayed treatment is cancer metastasis. Medical statistics show that the liver is the main metastatic site of colorectal cancer, with a metastasis rate of 60% to 71%. The lung is the second most common metastatic site of colorectal cancer. Chen Yong, an oncologist at Beijing Andingmen Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, pointed out that multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment is the main treatment model for liver and lung metastases of rectal cancer. However, affected by the patient's age, physical condition and the degree of disease progression, many patients in the middle and late stages are no longer suitable for Western medicine surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. At the same time, economic factors have caused most people to lose the opportunity to receive emerging technologies such as biological therapy and immunotherapy. So, where should these patients go?

The experience of Mr. Liu, a 78-year-old patient with liver and lung metastasis from rectal cancer in Xicheng District, Beijing, may provide some experience and help for those patients with mid- to late-stage cancer seeking medical treatment:

Starting from the second half of 2009, Mr. Liu felt that his bowel movements were slightly more frequent than before, and his stools were occasionally loose, and there were also blood in his stools. At that time, he thought it was hemorrhoids and didn't take it seriously. Because he was old and it was inconvenient for him to go up and down the stairs, he told his children and asked them to bring him some medicine for hemorrhoids. After taking the medicine for a period of time, the blood in his stools was sometimes better and sometimes worse. He thought it was enteritis and took medicine for a period of time, but it didn't get better. Later, it became so serious that he had more than ten loose stools and mucous stools every day, and the frequency of thick blood stools also increased. He also lost more than ten pounds due to anemia. His family was really distressed and anxious when they saw him, and they persuaded him to send him to Union Hospital in early January 2010.

At that time, the diagnosis result issued by Union Hospital showed: rectal cancer metastasized to the liver and lungs. The doctor said that in similar cases, Western medicine generally removes the primary lesion through surgery, and then uses radiotherapy and chemotherapy to eliminate the metastatic lesions, while eliminating the hidden dangers of extensive metastasis. However, clinically, there are generally no patients of such an old age who accept such treatment plans, and the treatment effect cannot be guaranteed. In addition, the old man is old, has a long course of illness, and is already very weak. He dare not perform surgery on him casually, and he cannot stand the toxic side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. If he is not treated, his survival period will not exceed half a year at most. It is recommended that he seek treatment from traditional Chinese medicine, which is relatively mild.

Later, after several inquiries, the family found Director Chen Yong for treatment in March under the introduction of other cancer patients. At that time, because of the long delay, the condition had further deteriorated: the old man's face was pale and his physique was extremely weak. He needed the support of two or three young people to barely stand and walk a few steps. When he saw the doctor, he didn't even have the strength to speak. It was his family who described his symptoms such as anal swelling and pain, lower limb edema, and constipation. Director Chen Yong developed a personalized diagnosis plan for him through Chinese medicine dialectics and combined with Western medicine diagnosis reports. Because the old man's physique was very weak, all mild and non-toxic anti-cancer Chinese medicines were used. The first step was to improve the patient's own disease resistance and control symptoms. After half a month, the clinical symptoms were relieved, and the old man's physique was strengthened to a certain extent. Then the main treatment was to suppress tumors and control the further growth and spread of cancer cells. Finally, according to the recovery of the old man, it was decided whether to live with the tumor or to use poison to fight poison to eliminate cancer cells.

After 4 months of Chinese medicine treatment, in July 2010, when the old man was re-examined, his family said that his fatigue had improved, his pain had eased, his constipation had disappeared, and his edema had improved. At the same time, they showed Director Chen a photo of the old man excreting bloody clots of rotten flesh when defecating. Based on his clinical experience, Director Chen Yong found that patients with intestinal metastasis of liver cancer also excreted similar things after taking Chinese medicine. He initially determined that the necrotic tumor tissue was excreted from Mr. Liu's body. This shows that the previous medication was effective for the symptoms. Director Chen Yong adjusted the medication according to the development of the disease and Mr. Liu's physical health at the time. In the follow-up for more than two months, the family said that except for occasional slight blood in the stool, the old man's diet and sleep were normal, and his mental state was much better than before. During the follow-up on October 15, the old man reported that he had a slight dry pain around the anus, the blood in the stool disappeared, and the edema of the lower limbs had disappeared. As of January 9 this year, the old man had been taking the medicine for 6 months. Except for occasional slight pain in the anus, all test indicators were stable, and his diet, sleep, and urination were basically normal.

Mr. Liu has been living with the tumor for more than a year and is still receiving treatment from Director Chen Yong. The whole family of the old man agreed that a year ago, even the doctors at Union Hospital did not dare to treat him, and his survival period was sentenced to no more than half a year; when he first found Director Chen Yong for treatment, the old man was almost dying. Now, he has been living with the tumor for more than a year, and his physical and living conditions are not much different from those of the same age. This is all thanks to Director Chen Yong's miraculous treatment. In early October this year, the whole family specially presented Director Chen Yong with a silk banner to express their gratitude.