It was a midnight during spring when I just came back from work. Despite the fact that I was quite thirsty, I read through, in one breath, the electronic version of the book “Nothing but the Truth” by Professor Xu Kecheng. Then there was calm within me, and I was deeply touched. I could feel the fragrance of grass brought by the night breeze of spring. It soothed me and set me thinking….
I never thought that a book on the much dreaded disease, cancer, could be so lively written, full of flesh and blood, on man and on things and abound with emotions.
This is a highly readable book. The reason I could finish reading the book in one breath is that, besides being a source of knowledge for its readers, it is full of emotions and written in a beautiful language. At that instant, I was delighted and rejoiced that there is a doctor in the person of Professor Xu, who is full of conscience and feelings. I would like to give all my respect and to salute him for not neglecting his duties despite his busy schedules.
There are certain parts in his book that touched me deeply. 1. On Jiangsu South and Jiangsu North, he revealed his inner love and sentiment for the two provinces. The great concern he showed toward a patient whom he first met and his deep sense of responsibility toward him just show what a good doctor he is. 2. The story of him and Director Sun which transformed the second half of their lives makes me sigh with feelings. There are infinite possibilities in life. If we show mutual understanding and mutual support, there will be genuine sincerity and reciprocation that would be incredibly touching. 3. His encounter with Master Zhen Chi of Lin Gu Temple, Nanjing which was dramatic, emotion-filled and unforgettable.
I remember a quote by a philosopher: Life is the best arts only if we live it to the fullest; life will not be monotonous and it will always be touching.
Professor Xu possesses the great sincerity required of a doctor. He wrote that: I have been in medical practice for more than 46 years. I have devoted myself in cancer research mainly on cancer of the digestive system for 40 years and have been focusing on cancer treatment with my colleagues for the last 10 years. I have experienced successes as well as failures; there were occasions of joy, regret and agony.
Some patients regard doctors as the life-saving straw, but Professor Xu sincerely tells that doctors have their limitations, and have the same feelings of happiness, anger, sadness, and joy; they can fall sick, in helplessness and even sufferings. Yes, medicines are imperfect and doctors are like patients and they have their time of helplessness. That is why he said frankly that there were occasions of joy, regret and even agony. It is regret and agony that give him sleepless nights and work untiringly. His service attitude gains our admiration and respect.
As a doctor he is kind and humane. He wrote: There are more than a hundred kinds of cancer and they are unpredictable. From my experience as a doctor, I find that to treat cancer, doctors should maintain good communication with their patients and to understand the thoughts and concerns of patients. Patients should also understand the thoughts and concerns of their doctors. There is insufficient communication between doctors and their patients and there are frequent conflicts between them; what doctors look at is the disease without noticing how patients are having great difficulties in dealing with their diseases. Under such scenario, Professor Xu’s understanding on the importance of communication between doctors and patients is an advice to be treasured.
He is well qualified to write the book because: However, I am a doctor who was once a cancer patient myself suffering from liver cancer (nicknamed “king of cancer”), a cancer patient who has put in a lot of efforts to find out the best way to conquer cancer for his own survival and who had gone through moments of agony and joy and finally recovered from the disease, a doctor who has been doing research on cancer for decades, and one who is now the president of a cancer hospital; I am “4-in-1” in this respect. Probably there are not many people who would be in a better position than me to write a book on cancer.
Practically because of this 4-in-one status that when Professor Xu is giving consultation to his patients, he would say to them jokingly, “follow me!” which means what the patients is facing is what he had faced before.
During the course of my work, I have the honor to interview Professor Xu. I find him to be frank, full of vitality and with a young heart. He is reliable and possesses the quality of a good doctor with a parental love at heart. He is also a doctor who will render help whenever it is wanted.
Life is never plain sailing. But when storm strikes or the going gets tough, isn’t it a blessing that there is someone rendering a helping hand, shielding you from the rain with an umbrella or showing you the way, giving you a warm embrace or showing you a smiling face?
Therefore when storm strikes, why not “follow him!”
When the storm is over, you will have a sunny day!