Guangzhou — When Eduardo Yu was diagnosed in the Philippines to have a liver tumor back last November, he was told he had three to six months to live.
Another deadline given to him was even sooner than the first one — a week to a month. His cancer was then at Stage 2.
Yu, who is in his 60s, was told he needed to undergo an operation to have the 10-centimeter tumor removed, but he was so afraid to go under the knife and no hospital in the Philippines gave him another option.
“I did not want any operation,” Yu said.
And so he went to the Modern Cancer Hospital run by the Bo Ai Medical Group here in Guangdong, China.
Having undergone a series of procedures that include bio immune therapy, intra-arterial chemotherapy, iodine seed implantation, and cryotherapy, he has been on his fifth visit to the hospital and was told that his condition has gotten better. The tumor has shrunk down to one centimeter.
Like Yu, Regina Manguiran also did not want to undergo an operation when she was diagnosed with cervical tumor. Back in February, she was told the cancer was at Stage 3.
At Bo Ai’s Modern Cancer Hospital, Manguiran underwent minimally invasive modes of cancer treatment after she first went there in February.
These include intra-arterial chemotherapy, iodine seed implantation and bio immunotherapy.
When she talked to visiting Filipino journalists on a Saturday afternoon, she had just undergone another session of chemotherapy about two hours prior. But Manguiran was already up and about, actively responding to queries about her condition.
Yu and Manguiran are just two of several patients who have come to this hospital in Guangdong province.
Bo Ai officials said the hospital boasts of minimally invasive modes of treatment, especially for those who cannot undergo surgery.
According to them, 70 percent of cancer is not suitable for surgery.
Minimally invasive and targeted use treatment techniques are used to kill tumor cells using different methods depending on the characteristics of the tumor.
According to the hospital, these are effective especially for patients with middle and late-stage cancer.
“Using precise positioning, the advantages of these treatments include less complication with minimal wound and little side effect on the adjacent normal tissues,” the hospital’s information material states.
Established in June 2005, the hospital is part of China’s largest private medical group.
Bo Ai Medical Group chairman Lin Zhicheng said the hospital offers a combination of Western modes of cancer treatment and traditional Chinese medicine.
The hospital’s chief scientist, Dr. Pen Xiaochi, said they offer 12 kinds of treatment for cancer patients. “All 12 treatments have patents and licenses,” he said.
Hospital chairman Wang Huaizhong said that apart from the medical treatment they offer to their patients, they also provide other services to them.
At the hospital, patients are provided with a free one-day tour of Guangzhou, even including shopping.
They are also given tai-chi lessons every week and a movie day wherein they are brought to the hospital’s theater for recreation.
“These services are free of charge. Our idea is to provide a comfortable treatment period for every cancer patient,” Wang said.