On the 28th of November 2011, China’s Minister of Health Chen Zhu made an appointment to meet the leaders of our hospital. Not long after meeting him he told us he was deeply moved by our efforts. He had attended the congress of the World Health Organization in Geneva, the Indonesian Minister of Health, Dr. Endang thanked him repeatedly when she saw him, excitedly sharing her treatment experience in Fuda Hospital, China. Mr. Chen told us that he was also very excited at that time, because he saw that Dr. Endang was not only very pleased for her successful treatment, but also highly appreciative of Chinese society and the medical service. He told me that we had won honor for our country.
Actually Mr. Chen already knew about this matter earlier. In February 2011, the President of the Chinese Hospital Association, Mr. Cao Ronggui visited our hospital, after which he wrote a report to Mr. Chen about the Indonesian Minister of Health undergoing treatments in Fuda Hospital. After receiving this letter, Mr. Chen made a written comment the next day referring to it being emotionally moving.
The matter can be traced back to 8 p.m. of the 16th of November 2010. I received an urgent call from Indonesia informing me that the Indonesian Minister of Health would visit our hospital the following afternoon. She would require a complete physical examination and treatment within three days to avoid affecting her work. They also requested we be confidential as Dr. Endang had just seen a private doctor. The next morning, the Consul of the Indonesian Consulate General in Guangzhou came to my office and required us to be wellprepared for her reception. He asked me why the minister was coming, I answered, “Don't you know?” He said he didn't then quickly followed by requesting I don’t tell him, saying they were only responsible for the reception.
At 4 p.m., the car of the Indonesian Consulate General in Guangzhou picked up Dr. Endang at the Baiyun International Airport and drove her to our hospital, accompanied by General Ali from the medical team to the Indonesian President, her private doctor Tarawa, her husband and Dr. Barlian Sutedja, Sp.B, President of RS Gading Pluit, Jakarta, Indonesia. Dr. Endang was in traditional Indonesian clothes, shaking hands and greeting us warmly when she got out of the car. After her admission onto the ward we started chatting. I read the report provided by the Indonesian hospital and PET-CT films, finding that Dr. Endang had cancer in her left lung with hilar lymph nodes, left pleura and thoracic vertebra metastases, which was diagnosed as “stage IV lung cancer.” Her private doctor Mr. Tarawa said that Dr. Endang had always been in good health, but the routine checkups a week ago detected that there were lesions in her lung.
Fuda Hospital’s Executive President, Dr. Niu Lizhi, Vice-President Dr. Mu Feng, Dr. Li Haibo and I looked at each other, at a loss of words. We never imagined she would have such a serious disease! Dr. Endang was 49 years old, a medical graduate from Harvard University and a famous microbiology epidemiologist in Indonesia. Faced with such an important government official from the largest country in the Southeast Asian region, were we able to undertake the responsibility of treating her? General Ali said when he reported Dr. Endang's illness to the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President ordered him to accompany Dr. Endang to our hospital immediately.
Dr. Endang guessed our concerns and immediately said, “Dr. Xu, please do not hesitate, I know I have cancer and it's late stage, this is my fate. My husband and I had fully considered all kinds of medical approaches, medical sites and advice of my colleagues, finally we chose you and the medical team led by you. I completely believe in you, and I also have confidence because Indonesian people need me. She further added that time has become a luxury, which she couldn’t waste and please start treatment as soon as possible.
The following afternoon, we began the treatment for Dr. Endang as follows: lymph node removal, percutaneous cryoablation for lung cancer, pleural effusion drawing and local chemotherapy and microvascular intervention therapy for the metastatic lesions. On the fourth day, Dr. Endang returned to Indonesia. A week later, from the internet I understood that the minister attended the opening ceremony of a medical center in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
We had always kept the Minister’s illness confidential, as the health of a senior official is a state secret, which seems to be common practice internationally. Each time the state minister came to our hospital it was a Friday and she returned back on Sunday. At the end of January this year when I was in the United States I received a phone call from a friend in Indonesia informing me of news that the Minister’s illness had been disclosed by the media in Indonesia. On the third day a friend in Indonesia told me that the minister had held a press conference to introduce the treatment situation in Guangzhou. She announced that she had recovered and joked that after the press conference she could compete with them in a swim race. At the same time, pictures of the minister at work were published in the Indonesian International Daily News with a quote that the health minister was taking measures to work positively with the challenge of lung cancer. (Figure 17)
In February of this year, Dr. Park Sang-ho and I went to Jakarta to treat the minister with microvascular intervention. She looked well, the metabolic activity of the original lesions on the PET-CT scan had disappeared, and more importantly, the blood CEA reduced from the original 49 mcg / liter to 4 mcg / liter, which was in the normal range. This was a very important sign that indicated the cancer in vivo had been effectively controlled. The minister was pleased to write a preface for my book, the Indonesian edition of “Nothing But The Truth.”
“Allah will not give his people the test they cannot bear, gifts of God, regardless of happiness, honor or illness are all intent. The cancer given to me may be an order for me, commanding me to remove the threat of cancer for the Indonesian people. I accepted this fact with a grateful heart. Thank you to my husband and children's journey with me in the struggle of my life, Professor Xu Kecheng and his medical team, Indonesian presidential medical team, the General Hospital team of Indonesian Army and RS Gading Pluit in Jakarta, and I would also like to thank all people concerned and those whom prayed for me.”
I kept in contact with Dr. Endang Rahayu Setyaningsih via emails, in almost all, she mentioned she would never give up. She said she had confidence to live on, and wanted before her ministry term ended in 2014 to ensure that all villages have doctors available treating the sick. Further adding she believed God would not abandon her.
On Friday, November 9th 2011, Dr. Endang had checkups again in our hospital. We exchanged our cancer experience, she said that she felt she almost did not consider herself as having cancer. Furthermore saying, “Death is nothing to fear because death comes to all, how terrible it would be for someone to lose perseverance and determination to survive.” She said she was lucky and spoke cheerfully as she had chosen the right treatment enabling her to continue serving the country’s medical and health undertakings. When visiting the new hospital, she walked as if on wings. I asked her how she managed to walk so fast, she smiled and said, “The secret is that I keep swimming every day.”
On February 25th, 2012, the minister was invited to attend the opening ceremony of the new hospital and deliver a speech. She looked vigorous and I thought who would have imagined she was a cancer survivor with tumor! (Figure 18)