【Journey 04】Cancer hospital diagnosis – The reality of only life-prolonging treatment

Hello, I’m Chico.

In the previous article, I talked about my search for a hospital to ask for cancer treatment and how I finally made it to my first appointment at the hospital of my choice.

But after that

Such a faint expectation of mine failed, and I faced a harsh reality.

This time, I will talk from here.

The only treatment left was chemotherapy to prolong life

Dr. K, later attending physician, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Physician, said quietly.

The meaning of “preoperative adjuvant therapy, not such a sweet thing”

Same diagnosis as university hospital…

So, this means that surgery cannot be performed immediately because the tumor is engulfing blood vessels….

Your only treatment is anticancer drugs

It is not for preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy

Because I learned about the treatment called “preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy” through my prior study, I nodded proudly.

But soon, the doctor denied “preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy” as though to interrupt me.

・・・・・

You can not have surgery

・・・

Looking at the CT images, Dr. K, who has a cool atmosphere, continued calmly.

After this, the doctor explained why surgery was not possible.

He then pointed to the CT image

Hope and Disappointment

A hope against hope that there is a perfect treatment somewhere

I was hoping against hope that I could have a perfect treatment.

This is because I took my cancer as a borderline pancreatic cancer (it means it may or may not be able to remove by surgery),

when I was first told at the university hospital that the surgery might be difficult.

Hospitals that are thoroughly researching cancer treatment will surely help me… I believed that.

But I was wrong.

Because they are such a hospital specializing in cancer, they have made more severe diagnoses.

At a loss for words facing with the reality

Surgery is not possible. Therefore, anticancer drugs are used.

At this time, I was confused and did not understand what the doctor meant by these words.

The doctor choked on his words for a moment, and said.

・・・・・・・・・

What lifelong anticancer drugs mean

Surgery is the most “curative” treatment

手術が最も「根治的な（治る可能性のある）」治療法

出典：膵がん｜国立がん研究センター

Currently, surgery is the most likely curable treatment for pancreatic cancer in Japan.

Cancer drug will last a lifetime

And the “lifelong anticancer drug” that I was told is

Yes, cancer drug treatment will last forever.

We often say “lost my words” though, I literally lost my words.

I can’t find the words to say next.

Prolonging life

Yet somehow, I searched for the next word

And then, desperately said

・・・・・

Still moving forward

Thus, I started treatment with the anticancer drug Folfirinox and the investigational nivolumab.

Everyone was so nice

After I left the examination room, a nurse came running to me and called out to me.

It seems that the nurse, on the contrary, became worried about me because I was too calm, and called out to me.

Everyone is so kind.

Lessons learned during this period – the importance of taking a bird’s-eye view

From the hospital search I wrote in the previous article “【Journey 03】Find a hospital for treatment – act quickly and without regret ”

through the diagnosis at the hospital I chose, I realized the importance of taking a bird’s-eye view.

Awareness until reaching the desired hospital for treatment

In the diagnosis of the first university hospital,

Surgery is difficult, but maybe? It was a delicate state.

In such a time-sensitive situation, there was no time to cry.

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In order to successfully connect to the next

I needed to look at the whole picture, and know where I was now and how to move on next.

The essence of everything

In my work, I have been asked to take a bird’s-eye view of the situation, consider the risks, and then look for the best choice.

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Taking a bird’s-eye view, seeing the big picture

I thought this was necessary because of my profession as a project manager.

But it was not.

◇　　◇　　◇　

Even in situations that “connect lives” such as choosing a hospital, it is important to have a bird’s-eye view.

It was the fundamental essence of capturing things from a bird’s-eye view.

With bird’s eye, bug’s eye, fish’s eye

In business, it is often said that it is important to have bird’s eyes, insect eyes, and fish eyes.

• Bird’s eye: get the big picture
• Bug’s eye: look for details
• Fish eyes: Reading the Flow

I thought that these three perspectives are important for us to live.

Conclusion

Diagnosed with cancer, surprised by the low survival rate of pancreatic cancer, searched for the best hospital for me

Finally, I knocked on the door of the hospital, hoping that they would give me excellent treatment.

However, the word that was waiting there was “life-prolonging treatment”.

I will continue in the following article.