21st Century Necromancer

Chapter 327 224 Hepatic Hilum Bile Duct Cancer (Request for Monthly Tickets, Request for Subscriptions)

Can a person get two types of cancer at the same time? Most people would probably think this is impossible. Just how unlucky does one have to be to simultaneously have such misfortune?

However, in medical terms, this isn't something impossible. In fact, there's a specific term to define it, called multiplicity carcinoma, also known as multiple primary cancers. It refers to the occurrence of two or more independent primary malignant tumors in the same individual's single or multiple organs, whether simultaneously or successively.

But the probability of this happening is indeed very low. How low? International reports show an incidence rate of 2.0-13.5%, while the rate in China is only 0.52-2.45%.

So, it takes a certain level of misfortune for a person to simultaneously get two types of cancer.

And Wang Jiancheng happened to be such an unlucky fellow.

——————————————————

"What? You're saying I also have cancer in my liver? How is that possible! Today isn't April Fool's Day, so please don't mess with me like this!" Wang Jiancheng, lying on the hospital bed, became agitated upon hearing the head doctor and Zhu Yiting's words. "Tingting, I know I shouldn't have lost my temper with you this morning, but you don't need to make up such stories to scare me, right? How can a person get two types of cancer at the same time!"

"I'm not making up stories to scare you. You really have two types of cancer, and both are difficult to treat malignant cancers. Ulcerative gastric cancer and hepatic hilum cholangiocarcinoma—both are difficult to treat." Zhu Yiting couldn't believe her own husband was unlucky to this extent, but faced with the reality, she had no choice but to suppress her distress and continue stating the facts.

Seeing his own wife so serious, and the senior surgeon beside her with an equally earnest expression, Wang Jiancheng was finally forced to believe that he was indeed unlucky enough to have gotten two types of cancer at the same time.

"How... how is this possible!" His disbelief made him look very pale, and as he mumbled to himself, he also desperately argued, trying to convince himself: "I always take care of my health. I only drink and smoke socially, have no bad habits, and I exercise every day. How can I have cancer?"

"Young man, look on the bright side. From a medical perspective, there is still a possibility of getting two types of cancer at the same time, but rest assured, with how advanced medicine is nowadays, there are ways to treat the two cancers you have." The head doctor, seeing Wang Jiancheng's despondency, offered him a few words of comfort, "And besides, the tumor in your stomach was removed by the associate professor from The University of Tokyo last night. Now we just need to remove the tumor in the liver, and with good postoperative care, there won't be a problem."

"But the associate professor from last night is an old classmate of mine, and he's not even thirty years old. Can I really rely on his surgical skills?" Hearing what the head doctor said, Wang Jiancheng recalled that Chen Yu had operated on him the night before, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy, so he questioned the head doctor.

"An associate professor from The University of Tokyo under the age of thirty just proves how capable he is!" The head doctor knew exactly what Wang Jiancheng was worried about and replied to him with a smile.

Actually, many patients have the same psychology, feeling that older doctors are more reliable. As long as the hair is white and there's some title like expert or professor attached to their name, even if they aren't very skilled, people will treat them as a lifeline.

Indeed, the skills of older experts are more exquisite, and their level is higher, but a person's energy does decline with age. Although the medical skills of old doctors are brilliant, how many patients can they really treat in a day when their energy is waning? The entire medical system still relies on the support of the younger generation of doctors.

What's more critical is that a person under the age of thirty could actually become an associate professor at a world-renowned school like The University of Tokyo. You can imagine how competent they must be. Japan is a place where seniority is taken even more seriously than in China, and being able to stand out in such an environment just shows how impressive they are.

"But can the level of an associate professor at The University of Tokyo compare with the experts at Peking Union Medical College? I know this classmate of mine; his grades were always average since he was a child, and he didn't have any special talents. The surgeries he performs definitely won't be up to par!" Wang Jiancheng looked doubtful about Chen Yu's reliability, convinced that the surgery Chen Yu had performed on him the night before had not been done well.

However, just as he was about to say something more, Zhu Yiting yelled at him, "Enough! Chen Yu didn't sleep all night to operate on you, and you didn't even say thank you this morning, but now here you are, complaining about the quality of the surgery! Do you have any idea what it means to be an associate professor at The University of Tokyo's medical school?

Even if he went to Xiehe, he would be a top-notch surgical expert! Usually, you wouldn't even be able to ask him to perform surgery on you! Now he has kindly performed the operation for you, and still, you nitpick! Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"

After being scolded by Zhu Yiting, Wang Jiancheng's fire died down, and he dared not say anything more, simply closing his mouth. Although he still grumbled to himself in his heart, his face no longer dared to show any signs of dissatisfaction.

Having quelled Wang Jiancheng, Zhu Yiting then turned to the old director and asked him, "Director, is the surgery for my husband's condition difficult to perform?"

"We're all family here, so I won't hide the truth from you. This surgery is not easy," the old director said in a tone of plain honesty, not concealing the reality. "You must have learned about hepatic hilum cholangiocarcinoma when you were in school, haven't you, Xiao Zhu? It's a common malignancy in the biliary system. However, due to its unique occurrence site, invasive growth, and close relationship with the vasculature of the hepatic hilum, it has long been considered an inoperable tumor.

In the realm of digestive organ cancers, surgery for hepatic hilum cholangiocarcinoma has always been one of the most difficult. It is only in recent years that medical technology has progressed, slightly improving the surgical removal and survival rates."

"Ah!" When Zhu Yiting heard the old director speak so seriously about the situation, she let out a slight gasp and couldn't help but ask, "Then Director, you still said it could be healed, there won't be any problems?"

"That's why I say you young people are too impatient! Let me finish speaking!" The old director laughed and was not displeased by Zhu Yiting's questioning. He continued to explain to her, "Although this condition is difficult to heal, a few years ago, I saw a paper in The Lancet about how to remove hepatic hilum cholangiocarcinoma. It proposed a completely new surgical method and provided actual cases as evidence. If that surgical method is used, it can be healed."

"Really? Can you still find that paper then?" Zhu Yiting immediately became excited. If there was a surgical plan, even just the idea could be of great help to the healing process.

"That might take some time, but you can ask your classmate who performed the surgery on your husband last night. I remember that the paper seemed to have been published by someone from the medical school of The University of Tokyo. Asking him might be faster. And for a surgery of this caliber, having the associate professor as the chief surgeon would be the safest bet!" The last sentence from the old director was the key point; he was thinking of inviting the associate professor from The University of Tokyo to perform a demonstration surgery.