Vietnamese Grandmother Finds New Hope After Cervical Cancer Spread to Lungs
Meeting Nguyen Thi Tuyen
On the fourth floor of Ward 2, a well-groomed woman in her mid-sixties greets visitors with a warm smile and light makeup. Her name is Nguyen Thi Tuyen, a 65-year-old patient from Vietnam who had been battling advanced cervical cancer.
“I want to thank the doctors and nurses here, especially Dr. Lin Jing. She’s the one who gave me the courage to keep going with treatment,” she said. “When I was first told I had cervical cancer, I was overwhelmed with worry. After going through 25 rounds of radiation and five rounds of chemotherapy back home in Vietnam, the cancer came back and spread to my lungs. I felt hopeless at that point — but now, I feel wonderful.”
A Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Mrs. Tuyen first noticed abnormal vaginal bleeding in July 2017 but didn’t think much of it at the time and put off seeing a doctor. By January 2018, the bleeding had worsened, prompting her to seek medical evaluation at a local hospital in Vietnam, where she was diagnosed with stage II cervical cancer.
She underwent an intensive course of treatment — 25 sessions of radiotherapy paired with five cycles of chemotherapy. While the primary tumor in her cervix eventually shrank away, the treatment took a heavy toll on her body, leaving her with:
- Significant hair loss
- Persistent fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Noticeable weight loss
Then came devastating news in May: the cancer had returned, this time with several small nodules and two larger tumors, each measuring around 1.5 centimeters, discovered in her lungs.
Searching for an Alternative Path
The recurrence left Mrs. Tuyen and her family shaken. Unwilling to go through another round of chemotherapy, she began researching other treatment options. A conversation with a neighbor proved pivotal — that neighbor had also faced cancer and had fully recovered after being treated at St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou, with tumors disappearing and lab markers returning to normal ranges.
Intrigued, Mrs. Tuyen and her family scheduled a consultation at the hospital’s Hanoi office to learn more about minimally invasive therapy. What stood out to them was that this approach didn’t require open surgery, involved minimal blood loss, skipped traditional chemotherapy and radiation, and came with comparatively fewer side effects. Convinced this was the right direction, the family decided to travel to Guangzhou for treatment.
Arriving in Guangzhou
In May 2018, accompanied by her family, Mrs. Tuyen arrived at St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou to begin her treatment journey.
A Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) of specialists reviewed her case and designed a treatment plan combining interventional therapy with natural therapy. Just four days after arrival, she received her first round of interventional treatment.
“I barely felt any pain during the procedure. The anticancer medication was delivered directly through the artery supplying the tumor, and it left only a tiny 2-millimeter wound. Because local anesthesia was used, I felt calm and relaxed within just a few minutes,” she recalled.
Watching the Tumors Disappear
After completing six sessions of treatment, Mrs. Tuyen said she began to feel genuine hope for the future again. The minimally invasive approach gave her renewed confidence in her fight against cancer.
“I made sure to follow every instruction from my doctors and returned faithfully for each follow-up appointment. At my most recent check-up, Dr. Lin Jing told me the tumor was completely gone. I couldn’t have been happier,” she said, now eager to share her story with fellow cancer patients.
What Her Doctor Observed
Her attending physician, Dr. Lin Jing, shared additional details about her progress: “Following her second round of interventional therapy, the lung tumor had already shrunk considerably. By her fifth follow-up visit, CT scans confirmed that both the enlarged lymph nodes and the two 1.5 cm tumors had fully resolved.”
According to Dr. Lin Jing, Mrs. Tuyen’s overall condition normalized considerably — her appetite returned, her sleep improved, and symptoms like coughing and fatigue disappeared entirely. Her tumor marker levels, CEA and CA125, also returned to within normal range. Natural therapy was incorporated alongside the interventional treatment to help strengthen her immune system, reinforce the results of treatment, and reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
Looking Toward the Future
“I hold deep gratitude in my heart for St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou for giving me my life back. Everyone here — the doctors, the nurses — has been so kind and supportive. I’ve always wanted to visit Beijing, China’s capital, and now I believe that dream will finally come true,” Mrs. Tuyen said, reflecting on the future she now looks forward to after her cancer journey.
Disclaimer: Treatment outcomes vary from patient to patient. This account reflects one individual’s personal experience and should not be regarded as a guarantee of similar results for others.
