Ambushed by Cancer at 35: A Complete Farewell to My Stomach | Patient Story

After being diagnosed with poorly differentiated signet ring cell carcinoma, Salmon gave her stomach a name: "Shi Meiwei." She often talked to it, frequently saying, "We can get through this together."

For a long time, Salmon couldn't understand why a malignant tumor had found her. She maintained a regular routine, ate three balanced meals a day, and never touched late-night snacks or irritating foods.

The early signs of the disease were also highly insidious. In early 2025, Salmon began experiencing indigestion. She would feel full after eating just a little, only to be ravenously hungry two hours later. "I thought to myself, after turning 30, metabolism really does slow down, and my appetite isn't what it used to be."

The illness struck fiercely and suddenly, leaving no time to catch her breath. Within half a year, Salmon completed the entire process of conversion therapy for advanced gastric cancer, successfully underwent radical surgery, and achieved a complete "clearance" of the tumor.

The night before surgery, knowing that "Shi Meiwei" would soon leave her, Salmon formally expressed her gratitude to it.

Looking back, Salmon often ponders a question: which is more important, hard work or luck?

She acknowledges her good fortune: reliable friends, professional support and dedication from her family, a positive response to the treatment plan, and an environment free from emotional drain and anxiety, surrounded instead by rationality and kindness.

Beyond luck, what sustained her was a calm and clear mind amidst panic, complete trust in her medical team, and steadfast choices that never strayed despite the noise online.

"I hope good luck continues to accompany me," Salmon says. "I also hope you can draw some strength from my story and believe that our futures will also be smooth paths."

Author丨Guangguang & Maling Shu
Editor丨Maling Shu
Reviewer丨Guangguang

「 1. Suspected Gastric Cancer: The Journey to Guangzhou for Treatment 」

On April 28, 2025, Salmon received a call from Shenzhen Longgang Fourth Hospital. A few days prior, she had undergone a gastroscopy there. The doctor said results would take seven days, but the hospital called on the third day.

On the phone, the doctor told her the results were "suspected gastric cancer." Salmon's mind swung between blankness and frantic racing.

Before falling ill, she had experienced some stomach discomfort and visited several hospitals, but all diagnoses pointed to gallstones. She never imagined the problem would ultimately lie in her stomach.

Salmon contacted her friend Xiao Huang, and they rushed to the hospital. What awaited her was a series of heavy blows. "Poorly differentiated signet ring cell carcinoma, highly malignant, with extensive infiltration in the stomach. It might be advanced."

The doctor advised her not to hesitate in Shenzhen and to go to Guangzhou immediately to seek more specialized resources at The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University or Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC). With the May Day holiday approaching, to complete all tests before the break, Salmon decided on the spot: "I'm leaving today!"

Her first stop in Guangzhou was the Sixth Affiliated Hospital. There, the only thing she could do was "wait in line." She had to queue for a contrast-enhanced CT and for hospital admission.

The medical journey in Guangzhou felt like a race against time and a test of her ability to filter medical information. Waiting idly in an unfamiliar hospital for seven days meant anxiety would multiply. Salmon refused to leave her fate to waiting.

On the advice of a local friend, she quickly secured an appointment at SYSUCC and completed the contrast-enhanced CT the day before the May Day holiday.

「 2. A Transatlantic Call That Set the Treatment Direction 」

Throughout the holiday, Salmon watched for the delayed CT results while contacting her uncle's family in the US.

After her diagnosis, she had wanted to tell her parents several times but didn't know how to start. Her calm and rational uncle, upon learning the situation, immediately offered comforting words from an elder.

"Why don't you tell your brother and sister-in-law?" her uncle suggested. Salmon suddenly remembered she had medical professionals in her family. Her cousin specialized in immunology, and his wife in breast cancer. They were not only close relatives but could also guide her toward a more professional treatment path.

"I saw many people recommending Professor Qiu from SYSUCC on Xiaohongshu. Since my sister-in-law graduated from Sun Yat-sen University, I asked her to inquire about him." The feedback came quickly: Professor Qiu was young and accomplished, balancing clinical practice and research, with particular expertise in minimally invasive surgery and conversion therapy for advanced gastric cancer. The only hurdle: his appointments were extremely hard to get.

With help from several friends, Salmon finally secured a VIP clinic slot. On May 8, she sat in front of Professor Qiu for the first time.

The young doctor spoke calmly but with high information density: "The situation is largely as expected, likely advanced. The contrast CT isn't clear on whether it has spread, so I recommend a diagnostic laparoscopy."

[ During the May Day holiday after diagnosis, Salmon went to the beach with her parents. At that time, she was still hesitating on how to tell them about her condition. In those most helpless days, the Panda Group provided her with invaluable emotional support. ]

「 3. The Darkest Moment: Missing the Clinical Trial 」

May 14 was what Salmon called the darkest day of her life. Her laparoscopy results showed the cancer had spread. Tiny spots were scattered across the peritoneum and mesentery, upgrading her stage to IVB. Professor Qiu originally had a relevant clinical trial group, but due to the spread, she no longer met the inclusion criteria.

The day before, her parents had also learned about her illness. Previously, she had lied, saying she had "gastric erosion" caused by frequent overtime and irregular eating. However, her frequent "business trips" to Guangzhou had already made her mother suspect something was wrong.

That day, her friend Xiao Huang came over for dinner and mentioned going to a temple to pray for Salmon. Her mother sharply asked back: "What is there to pray for with a stomach ulcer?"

"Whatever happens, Mom and Dad will be with you." These words from her parents made Salmon burst into tears, and she finally confessed the truth.

"My parents kept their emotions in check and acted strong in front of me." Salmon tried to match their emotional state. She knew they sometimes cried secretly, just as she did. As an only child from a Northeastern family, she considered her parents more than herself. This mutual care sustained her through many grueling days.

On May 14, Salmon and her parents ran back and forth between Buildings 1 and 2 at SYSUCC over a dozen times, trying to confirm if there were other trial groups she could join. Immunohistochemistry showed HER2 negative, with no targetable markers. Her cousin suggested testing for Claudin 18.2, which came back as 30% weakly positive. The standard treatment option left was chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.

At that time, Salmon was fixated on clinical trials, even contacting a related project at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. Their trial accepted non-strong positive Claudin 18.2. She contacted the doctor via Xiaohongshu but hesitated for a week and ultimately decided not to go. "Going far away to an unfamiliar place in Shanghai... Professor Qiu is already highly professional."

Seven days after discharge, she booked another appointment with Professor Qiu. He joked, "Why haven't you joined a trial yet? Didn't I tell you to see the medical oncology department for treatment? Why are you back here?"

After much thought, Salmon replied, "I just trust you more."

「 4. Finding a Way Through Drug Shortages and Side Effects 」

Professor Qiu prescribed a combination regimen of Oxaliplatin + S-1 + Cadonilimab for Salmon. At the time, this was the first-line preferred treatment for advanced gastric cancer patients without targetable markers.

During the second cycle, Salmon traveled to Henan with a friend. In the middle of summer, her period suddenly arrived, with unexpectedly heavy flow. She described it as "like a rushing river." "Irregular menstruation during treatment should be normal. I told myself to calmly accept it." But after two or three days, the bleeding didn't subside as she had hoped, so she cut her trip short and rushed back to Shenzhen.

[ During treatment, Salmon traveled to Henan with a friend. ]

At that time, her platelet count was already at a critical level, and her white blood cell count had plummeted. "I thought, it's over. I'll never do this again."

As the cycles progressed, both her platelets and white blood cells dropped critically. Initially, to "boost platelets," the doctor prescribed Romiplostim, instructing her to take one injection weekly until chemotherapy ended. To avoid traveling to Guangzhou every week, she visited nearly every hospital near her home, including several large tertiary hospitals in Shenzhen, only to be told they didn't have the drug.

Consequently, she had to find a compromise. When platelets were low, she took Hetrombopag orally and received TPO injections at Longgang Fourth Hospital. When white blood cells were low, she received Pegfilgrastim (long-acting G-CSF).

"Theoretically, short-acting G-CSF would better suit my schedule, but local hospitals don't have it." After weighing her options, this "imperfect but barely sufficient" regimen was maintained through the sixth cycle.

「 5. The Stomach Wall Thinned, But I Got Better 」

At the end of the third cycle, Salmon saw the treatment's effect for the first time on Professor Qiu's computer screen. The originally thickened stomach wall had largely returned to near-normal thickness. Salmon was overjoyed; she knew the regimen was working for her.

By the end of the sixth cycle, Salmon understood a turning point was approaching. She brought her parents to consult Professor Qiu.

"Professor Qiu asked me, 'Have you thought about it? If there are no cancer cells left in your stomach, would you still be willing to have surgery?' Imaging showed her stomach had basically returned to normal, just like a healthy person's."

Salmon felt a "lottery-winning" surprise on the spot. Initially, she only thought adjuvant therapy was meant to kill the cancer cells that had spread in the abdominal cavity. She never expected that after six cycles, her stomach would miraculously recover.

In the consultation room that day, her usually serious father rarely smiled. He even asked, "Does this kind of situation really happen?"

Professor Qiu told them that whether surgery could proceed smoothly depended on a diagnostic laparoscopy. If everything went well, the exploration and surgery could be done in one session.

Professor Qiu outlined two paths: the ideal scenario was no residual lesions in the abdomen or stomach, allowing for a one-time "clearance" surgery; the most challenging scenario was scattered lesions remaining in the abdomen, meaning even if the stomach lesions were controlled, chemotherapy would have to continue.

Salmon first underwent a gastroscopy, which showed a small amount of residual cancer cells in the stomach. The doctor told her that according to standard protocols for linitis plastica, they would likely "err on the side of caution," possibly opting for a total gastrectomy during surgery. Salmon understood, "Of course, I also hoped Professor Qiu's team would find my stomach had recovered well during surgery and leave half of it. Either way, I can accept it."

「 6. A 'Small' Gastric Cancer Surgery, Easily Handled 」

The surgery day arrived sooner than Salmon expected.

Originally scheduled for Wednesday, it was moved to Tuesday morning as the first case because another patient's platelet count was unqualified. Even her blood test that day showed the most normal results since neoadjuvant therapy began.

Salmon shared the good news with her close friends. Everyone was happy for her, even more nervous than she was. Yet, Salmon was unexpectedly calm. Perhaps half a year of psychological preparation had taught her to coexist with any outcome.

In the surgical waiting area, Salmon said she was "so excited her legs were shaking." Seeing Professor Qiu in the operating room finally put her heart at ease. In the last moments before anesthesia, lying on the operating table as her consciousness faded, her final fleeting thought was about a carefully prepared gift card she had bought. It seemed she wouldn't get the chance to give it to him.

When she woke up, Salmon was already in a hospital bed. According to her friend Xiao Huang, she was wheeled out of the operating room with her eyes open, muttering, "My stomach is completely removed!" completely unlike the weak, comatose state of other patients. In that moment of ecstasy, Salmon said she was "a hundred times happier than when I got into college."

Later, during rounds, Professor Qiu told Salmon that considering she was unmarried and childless, he had made the incision as discreet as possible. During surgery, they found visible diffuse lesions in the stomach, not as clean as the CT suggested, so they decided on a total gastrectomy. Fortunately, the peritoneal metastasis lesions had completely disappeared, truly achieving "not a single one left."

The postoperative pathology report showed cancer cells still present in the stomach, with perineural invasion, fat layer infiltration, and lymph node involvement, but no distant metastasis. Professor Qiu instructed her to return to the clinic in 21 days to determine the follow-up plan.

"'Small gastric cancer, easily handled, right?' Salmon thought. 'Actually, it wasn't easy at all. But I've already survived the biggest hurdle.'"

「 7. A Bit of Luck, A Bit of Effort 」

During the half-year since her gastric cancer diagnosis, Salmon sometimes felt that "hard work pays off" or "heaven rewards the diligent." But two months after surgery, as her life gradually returned to normal and she looked back at that period from an observer's perspective, she realized she was a dual beneficiary of both "effort" and "luck."

This shift in perspective also allowed her to forgive her past self.

Early in her diagnosis, she created an account on Xiaohongshu to document her treatment. When strangers with milder conditions, or even just ordinary stomach issues, came to her to vent their anxiety, she once felt annoyed. "I even thought, if I could start over, even if it were just mid-stage or early-stage, how much happier would I be? If it were just a simple stomach illness, that would be a blessing." She couldn't tolerate people discussing trivial pains in the very place she had just barely survived.

But now she understands that pain shouldn't be compared. Everyone's threshold is different. She couldn't demand everyone to be optimistic and strong just because she was good at cheering herself up; nor could she deny others' fear and vulnerability just because her own physical foundation was decent and her mindset relatively resilient.

"I'm very good at cheering myself up, trying things whether they work or not." Salmon considers herself a rational materialist, but many of her friends would pray for her, some chanting scriptures, others believing in "sending positive waves to the universe" to accumulate luck for her through intention.

"Although I have no personal faith, I am willing to believe that the good luck they prayed for on my behalf truly landed in my life."

"2025 has passed, and it feels like a long dream." Now, aside from taking S-1 daily, receiving Cadonilimab every 21 days, and the long scar on her abdomen, she has almost regained her pre-illness self.

From initial breakdown and doubt to current acceptance and gratitude, Salmon has accepted this fact: in this battle with the tumor, she exerted her utmost effort and was indeed gently favored by fate.

「 8. Embracing 'Low-Risk' Daily Happiness 」

After her diagnosis, Salmon found it hard to make long-term plans. The disease struck so fiercely and suddenly that her only certain goal was to strive for pCR (pathological complete response) and obtain a "clinical recovery" pass.

To protect this fragile main thread, she had to actively block out external noise. She used to carefully study medical guidelines and browse materials in patient groups, but would often stop reading. "The words behind those texts are things I don't want to hear."

This sense of detachment has now extended to patient groups. Actually, during that initial May Day holiday, she saw a recommendation for the "Panda Group" on Xiaohongshu, learned it was a well-known domestic anti-cancer organization, and proactively applied to join. In those most helpless days, group members helped explain basic knowledge and provided invaluable emotional support.

But as her condition gradually improved, she found herself craving a "separation." "I now hope my illness and my life are separate," she explained. Nowadays, she mostly "lurks" in the group. This is a personal self-protection mechanism: "I hope to overlook this period of illness and only remember my current healthy state."

Despite choosing to step back, she remains grateful. "The Panda Group still helped me a lot, and I'm very thankful." She knows her stage well and understands that overly peering into the future will only disrupt her current mindset. Now, she only updates or asks questions on Xiaohongshu when necessary, deliberately keeping her distance otherwise.

This shift to "living in the present" has also reshaped her understanding of life. In her twenties, she firmly believed that if she ever got a terminal illness, she would abandon everything to travel the world. But when illness actually struck, she realized what she cherished most wasn't distant places, but the ordinary daily life right in front of her.

"Now I feel that sitting together as a family, eating meals cooked by my parents, complaining about the boss or difficult clients with colleagues at work—that's the state that makes me feel most at peace."

[ During the May Day holiday in 2026, Salmon and her friends embarked on another journey. ]

In the past, she loved the freedom of "working for a few months then quitting to wander," traveling three or four times a year. Now, simply meeting a few friends on the weekend to sit by the sea, soak in a hot spring, share a meal, or just chat casually is enough for her.

"So I no longer plan grand trips," Salmon says. Compared to an uncertain distant future, she cherishes the stability within reach right now. Living each day with warmth and vitality is, for her, the greatest happiness at present.

To protect patient privacy, the name used in this article is a pseudonym.
Images featuring the patient's portrait have been authorized by the patient and may not be used without permission.