Chasing the Wind and Moon: How Late-Stage Patient Brother Jia Freely Explores the World | Patient Story

Brother Jia says: "Don't treat me like a patient, and I won't be one."

Brother Jia is certainly not just a patient; he will always be a free-spirited, widely admired man!

————— Author | Wang Xiaohan

Editors | Guangguang & Xianning

「 Part 1: Who is Brother Jia? 」

Brother Jia is a man known far and wide.

He is cheerful, charismatic, and incredibly charming: an excellent cook and brewer who often gathers friends to enjoy drinks under the moonlight.

His charm transcends age. Even my friends can put their arms around him, share a hearty drink, and respectfully call him "Brother Jia."

He used to be in excellent health, unbothered by winter cold or summer heat. He loves traveling and often treks through remote areas like the no-man's-land in Tibet.

This free-spirited Brother Jia is my idol, the coolest guy in my eyes, and my dad—the last person I would ever associate with late-stage cancer.

[ Photographs by Brother Jia ]

「 Part 2: Brother Jia Gets Cancer 」

One day in September 2021, Brother Jia suddenly noticed blood in his urine. Calmly, he contacted a friend in the medical field for an ultrasound. After reviewing the results, his friend urged him to go to the hospital immediately for a thorough examination.

Sensing that things might be serious, he went to the hospital for further tests. The results: a colon tumor invading the bladder.

Brother Jia had cancer.

He was the first to know, and I was the last. Strangely, everyone wasn't worried about my dad's reaction, but rather about whether I could handle it.

Through a local contact at Chongqing Daping Hospital, we were recommended a specialist, and Brother Jia quickly began treatment.

Before chemotherapy, the doctor arranged a PET-CT, which confirmed no distant metastasis. He then underwent four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6 + cetuximab). The tumor shrank steadily, and the response was excellent. He proceeded to surgery, and everything went smoothly.

「 Part 3: Brother Jia Completes Treatment 」

Brother Jia was incredibly tough.

On the day of his surgery, my mom took him back to the ward, but he sent her home, saying a minor surgery didn't require family to stay overnight; a hired caregiver was enough. I didn't see him again until seven days later, when he checked out, took a taxi, and went home effortlessly.

During subsequent chemotherapy, he was even more remarkable. He worked, cooked, dropped off and picked up my kids, and let nothing slide. At one point, with a chemotherapy infusion pump on his left arm, he was still holding a spatula in his right, sweating as he stir-fried for us.

[ Brother Jia cooking while wearing a 5-FU infusion pump ]

Brother Jia always says, "Please don't treat me like a patient."

Time flew by, and by February of the following year, brave Brother Jia successfully completed his treatment.

All the pain was in the past, and Brother Jia and our family were filled with hope for the future once again.

[ Photographs by Brother Jia ]

「 Part 4: Joining the Panda Group 」

Although Brother Jia's fight against cancer reassured us, I couldn't help but feel a lingering worry and often searched for information online. By chance, I joined the "Panda Group," where I began learning more about his condition. I practically became a half-expert, urging him to attend every follow-up and meticulously recording his results.

During his second follow-up in August 2022, his CEA level rose to 5.8, though imaging showed no abnormalities. Three months later, in November, his third follow-up showed CEA climbing to 7.2, with imaging still clear.

By his fourth follow-up in February 2023, CEA had reached 9.2. Imaging remained inconclusive, so the doctor recommended a colonoscopy, which revealed several polyps that were promptly removed.

「 Part 5: Brother Jia's Relapse 」

In March 2023, I moved to Mexico for work with my husband and two children. By May, his fifth follow-up results no longer said "no abnormalities." The imaging clearly indicated a recurrent lesion in the presacral soft tissue.

Holding my phone, I repeatedly checked the results. A profound sense of helplessness nearly overwhelmed me, and I broke down in tears over 10,000 kilometers away from home.

It was the first time I had cried since learning of his illness. After crying, I pulled myself together. This time, I would clear the path for him and help him regain his health.

First, I needed to understand exactly where the "presacral soft tissue" is.

Despite being in the Panda Group for so long, these words were still unfamiliar to me; I had never heard anyone mention them. I asked in the group, but most members were early-stage patients with little relevant experience. Meanwhile, my best friend back in China stepped in as another daughter for Brother Jia, "filling in" for me to urgently consult his attending physician.

We held three multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings and consulted experts from Chongqing Southwest Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and PLA General Hospital (301). They all agreed that the area had too many nerves and blood vessels, making surgery highly risky. Considering post-operative quality of life, they recommended conservative treatment. Simply put, no doctor was willing to take on the surgery.

「 Part 6: Brother Jia's Second Battle Against Cancer 」

In June 2023, Brother Jia began a new round of chemotherapy.

After four cycles of mFOLFOX6 + cetuximab, the tumor neither grew nor shrank.

Following a regimen of 30 radiation sessions combined with cetuximab and oral capecitabine, his CEA dropped below 5, but the tumor remained stable in size.

Anxiety set in, and we quickly consulted his doctor. He decisively adjusted the regimen to cetuximab + irinotecan + oral capecitabine. When the November follow-up results came out, our heavy hearts finally lightened a bit: imaging finally showed the tumor shrinking.

From the relapse until April this year, Brother Jia underwent about ten more chemotherapy sessions. He remained incredibly resilient, with high tolerance to chemo and blood test results worthy of a gold star. Despite side effects like rashes and mouth ulcers, he still ate and drank heartily at every meal. Aside from occasional complaints like "food has lost its flavor" or "I can't taste anything," life went on as usual—he kept working and cooking without missing a beat.

Between chemo cycles, he still made time to travel, always saying, "Either the body or the soul must be on the road." During this period, I brought my youngest daughter back to China to stay with him for a month, after which he hurriedly sent me back to Mexico.

Brother Jia says, "If you treat me like a patient, I really will become one."

[ Photographs by Brother Jia ]

In August, after completing a month of long-course radiation, the warrior Brother Jia went on a month-long road trip to Xinjiang with friends the very next day. He later recalled that his mouth was full of ulcers, so he couldn't taste the roasted lamb at all, but he could still imagine its deliciousness.

After his October chemotherapy session, he immediately boarded a flight across the ocean to visit us in Mexico. There, he became fascinated by an architect and traveled all over Mexico to see all his works.

[ Photographs by Brother Jia ]

「 Part 7: A Sudden Turning Point 」

In February 2024, we finished our work abroad and settled in Beijing.

By April, his condition stabilized but hit a treatment bottleneck. Although irinotecan was effective, its side effects were too severe, so the doctor advised pausing it. However, in the second month off medication, his CEA began rising again, and helplessness overwhelmed me once more.

At this crossroads, we mentioned to a friend who used to work at Beijing Cancer Hospital that we wanted to seek advice from their doctors for better options and asked for a referral.

On the day of the appointment, I arrived at the hospital only to find my friend had referred me to Dr. Wang Lin, a surgeon. I called my husband, saying there was a misunderstanding. I had wanted to consult a medical oncologist about treatment plans, but my friend recommended a surgeon. My husband advised me on the phone, "Since we're here, it doesn't hurt to take a look."

After hearing my description, Dr. Wang felt surgery might still be an option. Dramatically, I had rushed out that morning with the wrong bag and left the scans at home. The doctor immediately scheduled a CT scan for two weeks later. The good news was so sudden I could hardly believe it. I told Dr. Wang I would bring the scans next week for him to review first. If he still saw a surgical opportunity, I would bring Brother Jia for the CT. If not, we wouldn't put him through the hassle. Dr. Wang agreed.

The following week, I brought the scans to him. Dr. Wang studied them, pondered for half a minute, then wrote a name on a sticky note and said, "Go to Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and find Dr. Zhang Jian."

Walking out of the hospital gates, I couldn't help but cry tears of joy.

[ Photographs by Brother Jia ]

「 Part 8: Brother Jia's Second Surgery 」

It's hard to describe the mix of emotions I felt walking into Dr. Zhang Jian's office.

After reviewing the scans, Dr. Zhang confidently told me the presacral lesion was completely manageable and just required a CT to confirm the aorta's position.

I efficiently scheduled a CT for early the next morning. Brother Jia took the earliest flight to Shanghai. After the scan, we strolled along Huaihai Middle Road. The weather was lovely, lined with towering plane trees. We walked, chatted, admired the old buildings, took photos, and rested at a café.

On Friday, we received a text from Dr. Zhang's assistant. The message made us ecstatic: Brother Jia's surgery could proceed! Fortunately, a bed opened up on Sunday, and we prepared for surgery on Monday.

During the pre-op consultation, Dr. Zhang explained that the lesion's location was indeed complex, with a high risk of severe bleeding. Though they could manage it, 2000 ml of blood needed to be prepared. Additionally, prior radiation had made surrounding tissues fragile, increasing surgical difficulty and the likelihood of a temporary stoma.

I told Dr. Zhang we fully trusted him, but given Brother Jia's love for looking good and staying active, we hoped to avoid a stoma if possible. Dr. Zhang said he would take his time during surgery. When the OR called us downstairs to see the tissue specimen, I knew it was a success. Dr. Zhang showed us the removed tissue and said, "Rest assured, the surgery went very well." As we left, he casually added, "I did it minimally invasively, and blood loss was only 40 ml."

In that moment, I felt he was glowing.

「 Part 9: Brother Jia Says Don't Treat Me Like a Patient 」

One month post-op, Brother Jia's CEA finally returned to normal. Even more thrilling, his MRD test came back negative. The remarkable Brother Jia had defeated cancer once again.

Looking back at his second surgery, Brother Jia still refused to have anyone stay overnight. My mom comfortably slept in a hotel, just visiting daily to check in. Soon, Brother Jia became an idol to all the patients in the ward.

After the surgery, Dr. Zhang chatted with us, praising the previous surgery for being clean and thorough, which reduced the difficulty of this one. Later, during a follow-up in Chongqing, the local doctor remarked that daring to operate after radiation and successfully doing it minimally invasively showed exceptional skill and courage. I must say, Dr. Zhang Jian is indeed very handsome.

At this moment, I am reminded of Brother Jia's favorite saying: "Don't treat me like a patient, and I won't be one." Brother Jia is certainly not just a patient; he will always be a free-spirited, widely admired man!

To protect patient privacy, names in this article are pseudonyms. Images featuring the patient's portrait are used with authorization and may not be reproduced without permission.

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