Zhou Qiao said: "That's probably what it means! Although this disease is difficult to treat, it still requires close cooperation from the patient and a strong desire to survive. If you give up on your own and feel that there is no hope of saving, no matter how great I am, you will not be able to survive." I can’t help you!”
"Well, Dr. Zhou, we will treat you here. Please be careful! Thank you!" Mr. Clark said very sincerely.
Mrs. Clark nodded too.
"No problem. In fact, because your condition was discovered in time, there is a certain probability that it can be cured. Let me explain to you the plan and the things that need to be paid attention to in the early stage of chemotherapy. After one or two courses of treatment, we Evaluate the effect of chemotherapy. If the effect is good, surgery can be performed.
Of course, appropriate chemotherapy must be performed after the operation to consolidate. This is a long process and faces many physical and psychological challenges, but no matter what, we must have confidence! Believe me, you will definitely overcome the disease! "
"Yeah," Mrs. Clark nodded repeatedly and said, "If we don't believe you, we won't come back!"
After passing by the University of California Medical Center, Zhou Qiao's superb medical skills have penetrated into their hearts, and their admiration is beyond words.
After all, this is the existence of one person who can challenge the entire expert team. Although, Zhou Qiao looks so young! However, they believe that there is no shortage of geniuses in this world, and it is obvious that Zhou Qiao is this kind of person!
Then, Zhou Qiao immediately asked Ava to arrange chemotherapy for Mrs. Clark.
As for the drugs required for chemotherapy, they are easily available from suppliers. This is an international metropolis, not a small remote clinic in China.
The first floor was too noisy with people coming and going, so we chose a south-facing room in the ward on the second floor so that Mrs. Clark could lie down comfortably while undergoing chemotherapy.
For the early stage of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, Zhou Qiao chose the FOLFIRINOX regimen, which is oxaliplatin + irinotecan + leucovorin + 5-fluorouracil, a course of treatment every 2 weeks.
Why do we need neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery?
Simply put, it is chemotherapy used before surgery or radiotherapy. Some tumors are difficult to remove by surgery or eradicated by radiotherapy due to large masses or obvious adhesion to surrounding tissues. 2 to 3 courses of chemotherapy can be given first to shrink the tumors. Turn the unresectable into resectable, or change the radiotherapy range from a large radiotherapy range to a smaller radiotherapy range.
There are also other reasons. For example, surgical removal of the primary tumor may stimulate the growth of remaining tumor cells. After surgery, the blood supply of the tissue around the tumor changes, and some blood vessels are interrupted, blocked, or narrowed, which affects the concentration and effect of chemotherapy drugs. Wait, I won’t go into details one by one.
This chemotherapy regimen has the best effect on pancreatic cancer, but because it uses many drugs and each drug has relatively large side effects, it is suitable for patients with relatively good physical condition.
For example, irinotecan may cause severe diarrhea, and some patients will have watery stools, while fluorouracil and oxaliplatin can easily cause peripheral inflammation.
In addition, this treatment plan is also prone to bone marrow suppression, such as reduction of white blood cells, red blood cells, and thrombocytopenia. Therefore, when using this chemotherapy plan, it is necessary to pay close attention to the patient's adverse reactions.
The blood routine should be checked at least once a week, and the blood routine should be reviewed the next day after taking the white blood injection.
The reason why Zhou Qiao chose this plan was naturally after professional evaluation. There are two other alternatives, but they are slightly less effective.
However, patients can easily become resistant to this kind of chemotherapy. If the first set of regimens does not work, it is very necessary to switch to a second set, or even a third set!
A combination of four drugs, some administered intravenously and some administered by pump, such as fluorouracil, requires continuous infusion for 46 hours, and adverse reactions must be paid close attention to during the entire process. Therefore, Mrs. Clark will stay in the Iris Clinic ward tonight. .
Ava turned on the TV and took an iPad as a backup. If she got bored watching TV, she could also play small games on the iPad.
"Mrs. Clark, if you are thirsty, remember to drink the hot water from this boiling water bottle. This is what Dr. Zhou specially instructed. He said you should not touch anything cold, especially drinking cold water, eating cold food, and blowing cold wind. Go home. Try not to touch the refrigerator after that." Ava has blond hair and blue eyes, white skin, and is wearing a nurse's uniform, like an angel descending from the sky.
"Why?" Mrs. Clark was surprised.
Because Americans have never been in the habit of drinking hot water. Even when some people drink tea, which is brewed with boiling water, they put ice cubes into the tea, or put it in the freezer before drinking. As for cold water instant tea and canned tea, it goes without saying that there is no ice without ice.
Only Chinese people in Chinatown boil water and drink it warm! In particular, some people like to soak wolfberry in a thermos cup.
Ava smiled and said, "Doctor Zhou said that drinking hot water can cure all diseases." She remembered that Zhou Qiao suggested that she drink hot water when she had her period a few days ago.
Seeing that Mr. and Mrs. Clark both shook their heads and expressed disbelief, Ava had no choice but to use another explanation given by Zhou Qiao: "Well, Dr. Zhou said, it is actually because the drug oxaliplatin has peripheral neurotoxicity and will cause symptoms. Sensory disorders or abnormal sensations in the extremities such as numbness in the hands and feet. In severe cases, there may be painful cramps and even loss of sensation in the hands and feet. These symptoms will be aggravated if exposed to cold, so drink more hot water and avoid contact with all cold things. !”
"Oh I got it!"
"If you put it like that, we'll understand!"
"No wonder Chinese people like to drink hot water. I couldn't understand it before, but now that I think about it, the wisdom of ancient Chinese people is really hard to fathom."
Mrs. Clark, who was in poor health and never drank hot water, tasted hot black tea for the first time and praised it full of praise.
I wasn't used to it at first, but after a few sips I couldn't put it down. It is worth mentioning that from then on, Mrs. Clark fell in love with drinking hot water and became a different kind of American!
"Mrs. Clark, please relax and smile more often. A good mood will be very helpful for your condition. Well, just treat it as if you are here on vacation. If you need anything or if you feel uncomfortable, please call me at any time! Press Just this bedside bell will do!"
Ava smiled and brought many more snacks, and then some of today's latest newspapers.
Mr. Clark nodded. This kind of service is really much better than that of big hospitals, and the total cost is lower.
After Ava went out, Mr. Clark asked: "Deborah, do you want to call our daughter? Why don't you notify her of your serious illness?"
Mrs. Clark took a sip of the steaming black tea and said, "Then give her a shot."
So, Mr. Clark picked up the phone and dialed.
Their daughter, Jessica, is not in San Francisco. After graduating from Harvard University, she went to New York and worked for a large multinational company. She was always busy with work and could not come back several times a year. Although, there are a lot of flights in the United States.
When the call was connected, Mr. Clark didn't know what to say for a moment: "Jessica..."
He just called his daughter, but Jessica's very impatient voice came from the other end of the phone.
