Chapter 305: Chapter 305

(Thanks to friends like Long Road to Eternal Rest, Wealth God Returns, and bookfriend20171217135953921 for their monthly ticket encouragement) ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥

"Teacher Liu, with your skills, can’t you increase the success rate of the surgery?" Huang Bo asked on the way back.

Liu Banxia shook his head. "You saw the patient’s condition in the abdominal cavity just now. If we were to remove all these adhesions, who knows how much intestine we’d have to resect."

"Today can be considered a lesson for you all. My mentor, Dr. Shi, once said, ’A doctor is a person, not a god. The most difficult thing for a doctor is to learn when to let go.’"

"I used to think Director Xiao from our Neurosurgery Department was very cold. Even for surgeries with a high success rate, he’s always stone-faced when discussing the risks."

"So let me ask you, what’s the fundamental difference between a surgery with a 95% success rate and one with a 5% success rate? Do you all think that a surgery with a 95% success rate is basically a problem-free surgery?"

"Well, in reality, these statistics are all based on our routine judgments. No matter the surgery, the patient actually faces only two outcomes: success or failure," Liu Banxia said with a serious expression.

"Provided the patient is conscious and can make their own decisions, what we can do is explain all known potential situations to the patient. The final choice must still be made by the patient."

"In certain specific situations, we absolutely cannot induce a patient to undergo surgery just because we personally feel the success rate will be high."

"We cannot predict the final outcome, nor are we given the right to regret. The patient’s body is their own; we don’t have any right to decide for them."

"Of course, if it’s something like suppurative appendicitis and the patient still insists on not having the surgery, this kind of situation is a non-specific, routine case."

"Perhaps you think it’s a pity, because if it’s truly successful, the patient might have a few good years to live. But what if it fails? The patient loses their final few months of life."

"In our medical careers, we will face many difficult choices. Which choice is right or wrong, no one can say for sure."

Hearing his words, even Wang Chao fell silent. It’s true. It really is too difficult to choose.

Seeing them appear so quickly in the Emergency Department, Wang Huan was also taken aback.

"Extensive adhesions in the abdominal cavity, the chances of successful surgery aren’t high. Let’s wait for the patient’s own decision," Liu Banxia said.

"Sigh..." Wang Huan sighed.

He had been a doctor for many years and naturally knew what this situation represented. When even someone as bold as Liu Banxia said to wait for the patient’s decision, there was no need to ask further.

"Banxia, an epilepsy patient is being brought over. He’s a construction worker who had an epileptic seizure during construction," Wang Ying said as she walked over.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Wang Chao, you take charge of the consultation."

Everyone put away their recent low spirits. Another patient requiring consultation had arrived, and epilepsy could truly be a minor or major condition.

After all, wasn’t the last epilepsy patient’s condition due to a cardiogenic cause?

"The patient is 27 years old and has had brief epileptic seizures before. He regained consciousness in the ambulance after fainting. His vital signs are stable now," the paramedic said, pushing the gurney in.

"Well... let’s move him to an examination bed first and do some checks," Wang Chao said.

He also saw the patient, who was lying on the gurney and seemed quite alert. Of course, his expression was somewhat listless, but he was in much better condition than other epilepsy patients.

"Doctor, you don’t really need to do many tests. I have colon cancer, discovered early. This should be a side effect of chemotherapy," the patient spoke up.

Wang Chao was stunned. "Colon cancer? Was it surgically removed?"

"Sort of. They said it was very small, so no incision was made, but I had to undergo chemotherapy," the patient said.

"After chemotherapy, I started to lose my appetite, my hair fell out, and I felt nauseous and dizzy. But the doctor said the chemotherapy’s effect was very good. Now I just want to take advantage of my body still being relatively fine to come out and earn some money, and also to exercise a bit."

"Even so, we still need to conduct a thorough examination on you," Wang Chao said.

"You’re not just dizzy; you had an epileptic seizure. You lost consciousness during the seizure, so you might have thought it was just dizziness."

"At the very least, we need to do a brain CT and an abdominal CT. One is to see if your epilepsy is caused by a brain issue, and the other is to see if your tumor has recurred."

"Doctor, there’s no need. Doing them will cost a lot of money again. I know my own body very well; this issue only started after chemotherapy," the patient said very resolutely.

"And I also consulted the doctor in our county who manages chemotherapy. He said it seems to be a drug effect or something; anyway, it’s temporary. Once my body recovers, this situation won’t happen anymore."

As the patient spoke, he took off the hat he was wearing. His hair was very sparse, which should be a side effect of chemotherapy.

Wang Chao was a bit conflicted. The current indications were indeed very clear. And judging from what the patient said, it was also highly probable.

"Where’s your chemotherapy pump?" Liu Banxia spoke up.

"Chemotherapy pump? The doctors at our county hospital said I don’t need one, and my latest test results are also very good. They said I should recover a bit more, and then I can do the last course of treatment," the patient said after a slight hesitation.

"Doctor, this cancer of mine has already cost my family a lot of money. I really don’t want to waste any more money, and I wouldn’t joke about my own life."

"It would be our dereliction of duty not to examine you. However, given your situation, we can make an adjustment. At the very least, we need to do a blood test for you. Then we’ll write a statement of refusal for instrumental examination, and you can sign it," Liu Banxia said.

"Thank you. Otherwise, I’d have to spend a lot more money again. I’ve been checked several times in our county; it’s actually just a side effect of the medication," the patient said gratefully.

Liu Banxia nodded and walked over to Wang Huan’s side. "Doctor Wang, why do I keep feeling that something is a bit off with this patient?"

"What’s wrong?" Wang Huan asked.

"Look, I’ve encountered several chemotherapy patients before. The ones I had the most contact with, and who left the deepest impression, were Wang Mingxing and Lu Gang. Their bodies underwent significant changes after chemotherapy," Liu Banxia said.

"But this patient, aside from being slightly listless and having some hair loss, his physical condition still seems quite good. According to his account, he has undergone at least three or more rounds of chemotherapy. How can his physical condition still be this good?"

Wang Huan glanced towards the patient and also frowned. Reminded by Liu Banxia, he indeed noticed something amiss.

Because when the patient came over, he was wearing the work uniform of a construction company. Although it was a bit dirty, it was long-sleeved. Now that his sleeve was rolled up for the blood draw, his exposed arm really didn’t look like that of someone who had undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy.

"Normally, no one would make up such a lie just to avoid an examination, right?" Wang Huan said.

"Sigh... everyone has different reasons. Perhaps he has unspoken difficulties. Money might be one aspect. Another possibility is that he indeed has cancer but hasn’t received treatment for some reason and is afraid his family will worry," Liu Banxia said.

"Let’s look at the complete blood count and blood chemistry results first. Sometimes, there’s really no other way. Money, ah, it’s truly a stumbling block."

Just as Liu Banxia finished speaking, a young woman in professional attire ran in from the entrance, calling out a name.

"Feng, I’m here," the patient from earlier waved his hand.

Looking at these two, Liu Banxia looked on with considerable surprise for a few extra moments. One truly had to marvel; the power of love is really too great.

The girl who came in, although wearing professional attire, it wasn’t the kind worn by sales staff at a counter; she looked more like a white-collar worker from a company. And this patient? His appearance was slightly worse, and his family’s financial situation should also be somewhat inferior, yet the two were together.

Moreover, knowing the patient had cancer, she was still so devoted and caring. What else could this be if not true love?

"I didn’t know they called you. It delayed your work again, didn’t it?" the patient said.

"It’s okay, I took leave from my supervisor. I was originally supposed to go on a business trip this afternoon, but I’ve asked another colleague to go for me," Feng said.

"That won’t do, you have to go. Didn’t you say this time you’re going to the branch company for research? You might even get promoted when you return," the patient said anxiously.

"There will be other opportunities for promotion. How can I rest assured leaving you here alone? Is it serious this time?" Feng shook her head.

"It’s nothing, just a side effect of chemotherapy. If they hadn’t made such a big deal out of it, I... sigh..." The patient was very apologetic.

"You lie down first. I’ll go ask the doctor," Feng said, helping the patient lie down properly, then walked over to Liu Banxia.

"Dawei has had several epileptic seizures already. Could it be serious? His cancer hasn’t relapsed, has it? I’ve heard others say there’s always a chance of relapse."

"We actually wanted to do an examination for the patient, but he refused, only allowing us to do a blood test," Liu Banxia said.

"Let’s look at the blood test results first, and then try to work on him together. Do you remember how long it has been since his last chemotherapy until now?"

"It’s been over twenty days, right? It should be about that long," Feng said after thinking for a moment.

Liu Banxia frowned slightly. Could it really be his second guess? That the patient hadn’t actually received chemotherapy?

A medication-free period of over twenty days was already enough to reduce the effects of chemotherapy to a minimum. Otherwise, how could he even undergo subsequent courses of chemotherapy?

Considering the patient’s physical condition, if he truly underwent chemotherapy and recovered this quickly, it would be even less likely for him to experience drug-induced effects.

However, to say the patient hadn’t undergone chemotherapy also felt a bit off. Because the condition of the patient’s hair was similar to that after chemotherapy.

"Doctor, is Dawei’s condition very serious?" Feng pressed.

"Let’s wait for the test results before we say anything. Otherwise, whatever I say would be inaccurate. You should accompany him for now. After all, he had an epileptic seizure today, and it was on a construction site; it was quite dangerous," Liu Banxia said.

Feng nodded and walked back to the bedside.

Wang Huan glanced at him with surprise. Based on his understanding of Liu Banxia, he always felt that his words were somewhat insincere. Has something come up?