Late-Stage Colon Cancer with 30 Liver Metastases and a High-Risk BRAF Mutation: Optimism and Positivity Nurture a Double pCR Miracle | Patient Story

In May 2024, Tangtang’s father was diagnosed with rectal cancer accompanied by multiple liver metastases, along with the highly aggressive BRAF V600E mutation, one of the most dangerous mutations in colorectal cancer. After a brief period of panic, the family quickly pulled themselves together and resolutely embarked on a difficult cancer-fighting journey. From the initial shock of bad news to the exhausting search for medical care, and the agonizing waits outside two operating rooms, no one expected that a year later, Tangtang’s father would not only overcome numerous hurdles but also achieve a miraculous pCR through the precise coordination of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and surgery.

"I don't think my dad is just a 'superman' from stories; in reality, he is incredibly positive and optimistic, with remarkable mental resilience. Without that spirit, he certainly wouldn't have achieved such excellent treatment results." Looking back on the medical journey of over a year, Tangtang described her father this way.

This is a cancer-fighting battle about optimism, perseverance, and mutual trust, as well as a miracle written by a family with love and action.

Author | Dun'er
Reviewer | Guangguang
Editor | Dun'er

「 Late-Stage Colon Cancer Hidden Behind "Old Ailments" 」

During the 2024 Spring Festival, Tangtang first noticed something unusual about her father: the man who usually "ate a lot and had a big appetite" suddenly started drinking thin porridge and eating steamed egg custard—foods he used to dislike the most. Tangtang later learned that her father had already been experiencing abdominal pain at that time.

When her father first experienced rectal bleeding, everyone assumed it was hemorrhoids and paid little attention. It wasn't until May 2024, when abdominal pain became a relentless 24-hour torment, that he finally told his family for the first time.

Tangtang’s father is a typical tough rural man. Though past sixty, he still has endless chores. In Tangtang’s memory, as the eldest son, he has an extremely high tolerance for physical pain, fatigue, and injuries from labor; he wouldn't even cry out if a nail pierced his foot while working. "If he says it hurts, it truly means he can't bear it anymore."

To get a painless colonoscopy as soon as possible, on May 9, Tangtang’s younger brother accompanied their father to a local private hospital in Zhangjiakou. Tangtang said her brother still remembers the cauliflower-like tumor on the screen, which looked exactly like the diagrams for "late-stage colon cancer," and a terrifying thought flashed through his mind—"It's over, it's cancer."

Subsequently, a liver ultrasound revealed a mass of about four centimeters on his liver. The doctor told them, "If conditions permit, going to Beijing might buy you a year or two."

「 Racing Against Time: From Zhangjiakou to Beijing 」

After hanging up her brother's call, Tangtang, who works in Langfang, forced herself to stay calm. While contacting medical school classmates and friends with cancer-fighting experience, she also pulled strings to secure an expert appointment in Beijing. On May 10, the day after diagnosis, she successfully booked an appointment at Peking University First Hospital.

Combining the private hospital's results, the doctor performed a digital rectal exam on her father and then asked Tangtang’s husband to stay for a private conversation. "The doctor was afraid our family would lose control emotionally, so they chose the relatively calm son-in-law to deliver the news." Tangtang still doesn't know exactly what was said, only remembering the heavy rain that day. Her husband stood in the rain for a while before coming back to tell them, "Treat it, treat it immediately."

To buy more time, Tangtang, through a friend's recommendation, took her father to a more authoritative hospital in Langfang for comprehensive and detailed examinations. He was ultimately diagnosed with rectal cancer, and more troublingly, there were nearly 30 metastatic lesions in his liver. It was also during this visit that Tangtang first heard the term "palliative care" from a doctor.

Before the diagnosis, Tangtang had worried about unfavorable results but never expected all the bad news to flood in and instantly shatter her family's peaceful life. "I just couldn't stand hearing the term 'palliative care,' so I planned to try another hospital," Tangtang recalled. While searching for a new hospital, her father began his first cycle of XELOX chemotherapy as prescribed. Soon, severe side effects followed: he couldn't get out of bed, couldn't turn over, and his whole body ached increasingly. It wasn't until he was diagnosed with a blood clot at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and received timely, effective treatment that the family's tightly wound hearts finally relaxed a little.

「 A Surprising Turn: From 30 Lesions to 4 」

Looking back, choosing the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences proved to be a crucial step in her father's treatment journey.

Tangtang believes that, on one hand, the hospital has a branch in Langfang, making treatment and follow-ups very convenient. On the other hand, the hospital's professional handling of his blood clot further solidified her confidence in choosing them.

At the Cancer Hospital, her father began treatment under Director Sun Yongkun. Around this time, the genetic test results came back: BRAF V600E mutation. Director Sun added sintilimab immunotherapy to the original regimen.

During the subsequent treatment, her father's physical condition was surprisingly good. Except for the initial blood clot, after every chemotherapy session, he could take the high-speed train home by himself. "He'd arrive home in the morning, and by afternoon, he'd either help my brother with light chores or go play cards. He didn't look like someone undergoing chemotherapy at all."

After five more cycles of treatment, imaging showed that the 30 liver lesions had shrunk to just 4. Director Sun recommended they immediately seek a surgical evaluation. Moving from "no hope" to "eligible for surgical evaluation," Tangtang finally saw a turning point.

However, the path to surgical evaluation was not smooth. The first surgical director, upon seeing the follow-up results, said, "Since chemotherapy is working well, just continue with it. Surgery is meaningless." Unwilling to give up, Tangtang went to Beijing Cancer Hospital to consult another director. "That director looked at the scans and said, 'The tumor is adjacent to blood vessels, the risk is too high,' and ultimately did not approve surgery for my father."

After two failed evaluations, some advised her to try her luck in Shanghai or Guangzhou. "I felt Beijing was good enough too. Since both experts said it couldn't be done, we decided to go back to chemotherapy."

Director Sun suggested removing oxaliplatin and switching to capecitabine plus sintilimab for maintenance immunotherapy. After three cycles, a follow-up scan showed disease progression, so they promptly switched to the second-line VIC regimen.

On the eve of the 2025 Spring Festival, after completing three cycles of treatment, Tangtang brought the latest follow-up results to Director Wang Liming at the Cancer Hospital. It was already the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and Beijing's winter was exceptionally cold. Tangtang felt somewhat anxious.

Director Wang pulled up all of her father's imaging on the computer, studied it for over ten minutes, and suddenly said, "Surgery is possible." "At that moment, I didn't dare mention the 'tumor adjacent to blood vessels' issue, fearing the director might change his mind."

Her father's surgery was scheduled for after the New Year. On the day of the surgery, March 3, Tangtang and her brother waited outside the operating room. "When other families have surgeries, over a dozen relatives and friends show up. We were just two, feeling incredibly isolated." Every time the operating room door opened, Tangtang's heart clenched. "I was terrified they'd call our family name, fearing something had gone wrong during the surgery."

A few hours later, her father was wheeled out, and the stone in Tangtang's heart finally dropped. The first thing her father said after surgery was, "Thank you, Director Wang, thank you, doctors." Tangtang was both surprised and delighted. "He was even chatting with other patients and the anesthesiologist inside. His mindset was so good, unlike someone who had just undergone major surgery."

At the one-month post-op follow-up, her father's weight had returned to pre-illness levels. Tangtang couldn't help but marvel, "My dad's constitution is truly amazing. Even though he couldn't eat for days after surgery and everything was restricted, once he got home, moved around, and started eating, his weight quickly bounced back." What delighted her even more was the post-operative pathology report: the cancer cells in her father's liver had disappeared.

「 The pCR Miracle Earned Through Two Surgeries 」

On April 21, just over a month after the previous surgery, her father had the opportunity for intestinal surgery. "After one cycle of VIC chemotherapy post-liver surgery, I consulted Director Tang Jianqiang about how to handle the intestinal tumor. Unexpectedly, he said, 'We can do it now, no need for more chemotherapy,' and bed scheduling was incredibly fast."

Tangtang specifically communicated with the doctors, hoping to schedule the surgery at the Langfang branch of the Cancer Hospital—"It's closer to home, making care more convenient." Unexpectedly, the subsequent treatment went as smoothly as a green light: outpatient consultation on Tuesday, hospitalization notice on Wednesday, and her father entered the operating room on Thursday. "Because he had already undergone liver surgery and all tests were complete, no further tests were done during this admission. We just waited directly for surgery, saving a lot of trouble. It was exceptionally smooth."

This surgery was equally successful. On the day the post-operative pathology results came out, Director Sun told Tangtang that both surgeries had achieved pCR. "Just two more cycles of chemotherapy to consolidate," he said. At that moment, all the previous rushing and anxiety felt like dark clouds blown away by the wind, finally revealing the warm sun.

Over those three months, the two surgeries from liver to intestine were like two consecutive, smokeless yet exceptionally difficult battles. Tangtang and her family stayed by their father's side, relying on the doctors' precise guidance and her father's resilient spirit, to piece together the miracle of a "double pCR."

「 Optimism and Positivity Throughout the Family and Hospital Ward 」

Tangtang often says, "My husband is incredibly supportive." This only child voluntarily resigned after his father-in-law's diagnosis and became the family's "logistics minister." Her husband's attentiveness was so remarkable that even her father couldn't help but praise him: "You, your mom, your brother, and the caregiver combined still can't match him."

"My dad always says that in this family, only my husband treats him like a patient," Tangtang joked. "That's also thanks to how his mother raised him. The rest of us were all 'free-range' raised by you."

Life must go on. The heartache and confusion during treatment might be hard to endure, but they are quickly dissolved by the family's lighthearted jokes. Every time they went out for treatment, whether in Beijing or Langfang, Tangtang would take her father out for a good meal. Her father himself is a true optimist. Every time he went to the hospital for chemotherapy, he would pack snacks comparable to those for a spring outing, with a one-meter-long hawthorn roll being his favorite. "Getting sick actually brought me good times. I didn't have the means when I was young, but now I eat well at every meal."

Coincidentally, the day of his diagnosis last year, May 9, was also his birthday. This year, after overcoming two surgeries and being discharged home with a "tumor-free" report, it also fell on his birthday. These two birthdays act like two small periods, gently concluding the year's ups and downs, and quietly whispering: with optimism in your heart, even the hardest hurdles can be crossed with a smile.

「 Strength and Hope from the Panda Group 」

Tangtang's confidence also stems from the "Panda Group." After her father fell ill, she learned about the Panda and Friends public welfare patient support group through platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili. After watching most of the videos posted by the account, she immediately applied to join the group chat. Whenever problems arose, her first thought was always to consult volunteers like Teacher Cat Head in the group. Whether it was about when to change her father's treatment regimen or what situations might arise afterward, she would communicate and exchange ideas with everyone in the group. This feeling of being prepared and knowing what to expect was as reassuring as finding all exam questions within her study scope. Tangtang felt that the group members' communication style aligned perfectly with her own beliefs, giving her an extra layer of peace of mind and certainty on the treatment journey.

Now, as an "experienced veteran" in the Panda Group, Tangtang sometimes answers questions for other members. She says that even if it's just a faint glimmer of light, she wants to do her best to warm her fellow fighters. The most important lesson Tangtang learned in the group is how to properly view others' advice:

"Every patient is an individual, like Da Vinci drawing eggs; no two cases are exactly the same." Important decisions require consulting multiple sources, cross-verifying information, and then making judgments based on one's own situation. Tangtang deeply realized that while BRAF patients certainly share some common issues, determining the final treatment plan requires family members to gather information through multiple channels, seek professional opinions from various experts, and communicate fully with the medical team based on their family's actual circumstances.

Today, Tangtang’s father’s life has long returned to normal: he wakes up at 5 a.m. daily, visits the morning market, buys fruit, helps his brother with light chores from Monday to Friday, and drives around the outskirts on weekends. "He's busier than us office workers, running around everywhere every day."

Once, the danger of the BRAF mutation, the pressure of 30 liver metastases, and the repeated rejections during surgical evaluations stood like massive boulders on the cancer-fighting path. This journey was not easy. Rather than a dramatic "battle," it felt more like a long "companionship." Those difficult choices that once caused sleepless nights have gradually become memories of "thankfully, we made it through." And this peace, perhaps, is the best answer to overcoming all hardships.

To protect patient privacy, names used in this article are pseudonyms.
Images containing the patient's portrait have been authorized by the patient and may not be used without permission.

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