"I look so beautiful now!" she exclaimed. The woman before us was glowing, her skin fair and radiant, with barely a trace of the devastation breast cancer had once left behind. Only the faint pink scars on her arm quietly told the tale of her harrowing battle with death. Clutching Dr. Liu Shupeng's hand tightly, she kept repeating, "You are my savior!"
Her name is Yingying (pseudonym), and she comes from Thailand. In 2018, Yingying noticed redness on the skin of her breast, which worsened over time. Concerned, she went to a local hospital for an examination. The doctor told her, "This could be cancer. You need surgery to remove it." The news was beyond belief for her.
Fearful of chemotherapy, Yingying opted for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment instead. "I heard that chemotherapy is extremely torturous," she said. Many of the cancer patients around her who underwent chemotherapy did not survive, which only deepened her fear. "I took Chinese herbal medicine for about five years, and I felt I was doing okay."
However, in 2023, Yingying developed severe symptoms: redness and swelling of the skin on her chest, swelling in her left upper arm that restricted her movement, along with shortness of breath and chest tightness. This time, Chinese medicine could not resolve her condition. She turned to Western medicine, but the prognosis was grim. "The doctors told me I was already in the late stage, and there was no treatment available. The only thing I could do was take painkillers and go home."
The doctors’ "verdict" and the relentless pain tormented Yingying, leaving her unable to sleep, trapped in what felt like a living hell. "At that time, my friends and daughter searched everywhere for hospitals and doctors to help me. Finally, they found Fuda Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou and contacted Dr. Liu Shupeng through the hospital’s office in Thailand." Yingying thought this might be her last chance—if this didn't work, she wouldn’t have much time left.
In August 2023, Yingying flew to Fuda. Exhausted and frail, she could only plead, "Save me! Save me!" during her consultation with multiple doctors. What stood out to her the most was how caring the medical team was. They comforted her like family, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!"
Yingying’s condition was indeed challenging: The tumor had invaded the skin of her neck, with a large ulcerated area measuring approximately 18x21 cm on both breasts, accompanied by bleeding and oozing. Additionally, the soft tissue under the skin of her left upper arm, forearm, palm, and fingers was significantly swollen, thickened, and hardened like leather. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of left breast invasive ductal carcinoma (cT4N3cM1, Stage IV).
Based on her clinical presentation, examination results, and pathological diagnosis, Dr. Liu Shupeng and his team diagnosed her with multiple epidermotropic breast cancer—a condition where breast cancer cells spread through the lymphatic or blood system to the skin, forming multiple skin lesions (such as nodules, ulcers, inflammatory erythema, or hardened plaques). This condition is typically a late-stage manifestation of breast cancer, indicating distant metastasis.
"In addition to controlling cancer, alleviating the patient’s pain is also a top priority." After a comprehensive evaluation and discussions with Yingying and her family, the medical team performed interventional arterial infusion chemotherapy, combined with targeted therapy. This approach brought new hope to Yingying:
- **After two treatment cycles:** Tumor markers decreased, left upper limb swelling improved, chest and neck ulcerations showed signs of healing, and pain gradually subsided.
- **After three cycles:** Neck mobility significantly improved, allowing her to slightly lift her head. Swelling in her left upper arm disappeared, and swelling in her forearm and palm lessened. The skin on her neck and chest became smoother, with no pain, shortness of breath, or chest tightness.
- **After four cycles:** The chest tumor visibly shrank, ulcerations healed, and the hardened skin on her neck, chest, and left upper limb gradually softened.
In September last year, Yingying experienced tightness in her neck and chest, along with breathing difficulties, dizziness, and red patches on her neck, upper chest, and upper abdomen. However, after further treatment, she underwent a remarkable transformation. "When I returned to Thailand, my friends were amazed at how fast I recovered."
"My husband always misses home wherever he goes, but at Fuda Hospital, he never mentioned it." This, Yingying said, was thanks to Fuda’s thoughtful and attentive care, which made them feel at ease. She was grateful to have met everyone at Fuda. Whenever she needed support, the medical staff were always there, holding her hand tightly. These warm and beautiful moments have now become the strength and courage that keep her moving forward.
