How Minimally Invasive Care Earned a Liver Cancer Patient’s Trust
ANH LUONG, 57, lives in Hanoi, Vietnam. In 2011, a routine health screening delivered news he never expected: he had liver cancer, with a tumor marker (AFP) reading as high as 6,000 ng/ml. The shock of the diagnosis left him feeling as though a death sentence had been handed to him.
His mother, herself a doctor, asked him directly whether he wanted to pursue traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine. ANH LUONG’s answer was firm: cancer had to be dealt with right away, and he was not willing to waste time on remedies that might let the disease progress. He wanted a hospital he could trust to treat it properly.
Choosing St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou
Researching his options online, ANH LUONG came across St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou (MCHG). What stood out to him was that, beyond the standard options of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the hospital offered 18 different minimally invasive treatment technologies.
On May 30, 2011, he traveled to Guangzhou with his family. His attending physician, Dr. Lin Jing, ordered a full workup, which revealed that his AFP level had climbed further to 6,572 ng/ml, and imaging showed a tumor in the lowest segment of the right hepatic lobe along with multiple secondary lesions elsewhere in the liver. Given the extent of the disease, the medical team determined that comprehensive treatment needed to start without delay.
On June 2, 2011, ANH LUONG underwent interventional therapy. The procedure went smoothly and he experienced no significant discomfort afterward. Following roughly a month of supportive care, he was cleared to return home to Vietnam.
Putting Follow-Up Care on Hold
Dr. Lin Jing advised him to return periodically for follow-up scans and additional treatment sessions. However, running his own factory left ANH LUONG with little time to spare, and he chose not to go back to Guangzhou. Instead, he limited himself to periodic check-ups at a local hospital, without undergoing any further therapy.
As it turned out, this gamble paid off, at least for a while. His scans showed that the tumor had shrunk and lost its activity, essentially becoming inactive tissue. Encouraged by this result, he threw himself back into his work. He was also struck by how effective a single round of interventional therapy had been — the tumor had been rendered inactive with no lasting side effects, even though he had skipped every recommended follow-up.
Cancer Returns Five Years Later
Five years on, a new round of testing brought mixed news. The original tumor remained inactive, but a new growth had appeared, signaling that the cancer had come back. ANH LUONG recognized that this was likely connected to his decision to skip the follow-up treatments Dr. Lin Jing had recommended. Rather than becoming discouraged, he chose to face the setback head-on.
In August 2016, trusting the hospital that had helped him once before, ANH LUONG made plans to return to MCHG. Just as he was preparing to leave for China, his brother, who was going to accompany him as a caregiver, suddenly experienced stomach pain. A local hospital diagnosed the brother with stomach cancer. The two siblings decided they would seek treatment together in Guangzhou. Their sister, aware that a family history of cancer can raise personal risk, also chose to join them so she could look into preventive options.
Three Siblings, Three Treatment Paths
The three siblings traveled to St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou together. Following the recommendation of a multidisciplinary team (MDT), ANH LUONG received a combination of interventional therapy and 125I seed implantation, and his condition is now described as stable and good. His brother underwent a gastrectomy as part of a broader treatment plan for his stomach cancer, with a good outcome as well. Meanwhile, their sister received a natural therapy approach aimed at strengthening immunity as a cancer-prevention measure.
Facing both his own cancer recurrence and his brother’s new diagnosis at the same time, ANH LUONG — by then a five-year survivor of liver cancer — didn’t hesitate to bring his brother along for treatment at MCHG, a decision rooted in his confidence in minimally invasive therapy.
A Message of Encouragement
Reflecting on his experience, ANH LUONG shared his confidence in the hospital:
“At St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou, there are 18 minimally invasive technologies, a professional medical team, and very good treatment effect and medical service. I believe in this hospital.”
He also had words of encouragement for other patients navigating a cancer diagnosis:
“It is significant to detect cancer as early as possible. Please don’t panic when you get cancer. It will be okay once you find the right hospital and the right therapies.”
ANH LUONG and his brother continue their recovery together, and the hospital team remains hopeful that both siblings will overcome their cancers completely in the time ahead.
