In 2017, Ms. Zheng, who was unfortunately diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, began her own anti-cancer journey. However, after undergoing a series of treatments such as mastectomy, implant placement, and postoperative chemotherapy (8 cycles), the tumor recurred again in 2019. At this time, Ms. Zheng faced great challenges:

Firstly, Ms. Zheng did not receive standard adjuvant radiation therapy after the surgery because the lesion was too close to the heart, and the radiation therapy doctor judged the risk to be high. She was not sure whether to kill the lesion without damaging the heart. After this recurrence, Ms. Zheng will face the same question: should radiotherapy be given or not? What should I do about heart risk?

Secondly, although the doctor has currently prescribed the scheme of docetaxel combined with oral Xeloda (capecitabine) for Ms. Zheng, she is well aware that both hormone therapy and HER2 targeted drugs commonly used in breast cancer are ineffective for triple negative breast cancer, and there are only a few options. If the chemotherapy effect is not good this time, what should be the next step?
With the above question, Ms. Zheng went to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States through the Sheng Nuo family, hoping to obtain a clear answer.

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Located in Houston, USA, it has a long reputation in the field of cancer treatment and is recognized as an authoritative cancer specialist hospital worldwide. According to the 2018-19 US Hospital Rankings released by one of the three major news magazines in the United States, MD Anderson Cancer Center has once again been selected as the top hospital in the US cancer specialty rankings.

After meeting her attending doctor, Ms. Zheng received two exciting good news:
1. After careful examination, only two lumps were found on Ms. Zheng's left chest wall, indicating that she still has a chance for radical treatment through surgery.
2. The chemotherapy regimen provided by domestic doctors has already shown some effectiveness. The attending doctor suggests that two more courses of chemotherapy be performed to further reduce the lesion, and then the residual tumor can be surgically removed.

The magical "respiratory radiotherapy"

Regarding the radiation therapy issue of particular concern, the radiation therapy doctor at MD Anderson Cancer Center also provided a clear response: "I understand your concern about heart damage during radiation therapy, but at MD Anderson, we have determined that there is a way to avoid the heart during radiation therapy and reduce the damage to a very low level
According to doctors, when a person inhales, the heart is pushed open by the lungs. Therefore, as long as Ms. Zheng's inhalation volume is controlled properly, the heart can be pushed to a safe area, so radiotherapy is completely feasible.
During the radiotherapy process, Ms. Zheng successfully completed the radiotherapy with the help of specialized inhalation monitoring and positioning equipment, following the nurse's instructions for "holding and exhaling" (usually taking 10 seconds). Even if there are small errors during the process, there is no need to worry, because once the heart exceeds the set safety area during breathing, radiotherapy will automatically terminate.
So, Ms. Zheng received 33 rounds of radiation therapy at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Unlike the terrifying side effects (such as skin ulcers) that her patients had spread from mouth to mouth, except for a slight redness and blisters on her skin, she hardly felt any other side effects.
During the radiotherapy period, Ms. Zheng had a normal diet and even went for walks in the park and ran on the treadmill to exercise every day. Her daily life was not affected either.

The total cost is about 160000 US dollars

After going to the United States for 5 months, Ms. Zheng completed all treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. At this time, the doctor stated that Ms. Zheng's condition is currently very good and can be considered cured at the current stage. A follow-up examination is only required after 6 months.
During these five months, Ms. Zheng's medical expenses amounted to over $160000, mainly related to surgery and radiation therapy. The surgery cost about $80000, radiation therapy cost over $60000, and chemotherapy and examination costs account for a relatively small proportion.

Shengnuo Quick Review:

Looking back at the entire treatment process, it is regrettable that Ms. Zheng did not receive standardized adjuvant radiotherapy in a timely manner after the first surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, which may lead to an increased risk of recurrence. But from another perspective, at that time, due to the relatively limited level of protection against heart injury, radiotherapy was not performed, which may have also avoided certain risks.
In addition, Ms. Zheng's chemotherapy regimen in China has been recognized by the MD Anderson Cancer Center, laying a solid foundation for her subsequent surgical radical resection and radiation cleaning. The effective radiation protection measures taken by MD Anderson Cancer Center later enabled the smooth implementation of radiation therapy, which is also a key benefit point for Ms. Zheng's visit to the United States for medical treatment.
Although suffering from intractable triple negative breast cancer, we have reason to believe that Ms. Zheng's anti-cancer path will be more smooth today, and it is not impossible to defeat the disease. Let's look forward to her complete recovery as soon as possible!