Vietnamese Farmer Avoids Surgery, Finds Relief with Minimally Invasive Lung Cancer Care
A Diagnosis That Changed Everything
At 63 years old, Truong Khac Tuoc lived a quiet life as a farmer in Vietnam. Early in 2018, he began struggling to catch his breath and developed a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away. Concerned, he visited a local hospital for an examination, and the results were devastating: he had stage III lung cancer, with a tumor in the upper lobe of his right lung.
Local physicians recommended the standard path forward — surgery followed by chemotherapy. But given his age and deep concerns about the toll that full-body chemotherapy can take on the body, Truong Khac Tuoc and his family decided against it. He needed another option, but as an ordinary farmer with no medical background, he had no idea where to look beyond the treatments he’d already been offered.
Searching for an Alternative
It was Truong Khac Tuoc’s children who eventually found a possible answer. While researching online, they came across St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou and learned about minimally invasive cancer treatments — approaches that skip both open surgery and the systemic effects of standard chemotherapy. What stood out most was learning that patients with more advanced disease than his had achieved encouraging results through this type of care.
Wanting to be sure before making such a major decision, the family reached out directly to a former patient of the hospital to hear about their firsthand experience. Reassured by what they learned, Truong Khac Tuoc and his family made the decision to travel to China for treatment.
Building a Treatment Plan
Truong Khac Tuoc and his wife arrived at St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou in February 2018. There, a multidisciplinary team (MDT) of specialists reviewed his case and designed a treatment plan suited to his specific condition.
His attending physician, Dr. Wang Zenghai, explained the situation at the time: Truong Khac Tuoc was dealing with stage III lung cancer, along with chest pain, coughing, phlegm production, and breathing difficulty. CT imaging revealed a tumor measuring 2.1 cm by 4.2 cm in the upper lobe of his right lung, and cancer cells had already spread to the opposite lung, forming multiple nodules. The medical team determined that combining cryotherapy with interventional therapy offered the best chance of meaningfully improving his condition.
Early Signs of Improvement
Following his first round of treatment, Truong Khac Tuoc noticed his chest pain and breathing difficulties easing within just three days. Looking back on the experience, he shared:
- The procedures were performed under local anesthesia, with discomfort fading within about 30 minutes
- Within three days, he already felt considerably better
- He underwent a biopsy along with both cryotherapy and interventional therapy — treatments that were not available to him back home in Vietnam
- He experienced none of the side effects typically associated with chemotherapy, and avoided the risks that come with surgery
He described feeling genuinely satisfied with how his body responded to the treatment, especially given that it spared him from more invasive alternatives.
A Positive Turn in His Recovery
Over the course of three separate hospital admissions, Truong Khac Tuoc completed one full course of cryotherapy and three sessions of interventional therapy. The results were significant: the tumor in the upper lobe of his right lung shrank from 2.1 cm by 4.2 cm down to 1.9 cm by 3.8 cm.
Just as encouraging, the multiple nodules that had appeared in his other lung were no longer detectable, and the chest pain, coughing, and breathing trouble that once disrupted his daily life had resolved. Today, Truong Khac Tuoc maintains a stable condition, with a healthy appetite and restful sleep.
Disclaimer: Treatment outcomes vary from patient to patient. This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis or advice.
