Chapter 57: The Tragedy of Humanity

The ward was packed with patients. Right after the morning rounds, the department director admitted a cancer patient to Su Jing’s care—a woman in her early thirties who required a complete left breast amputation. Breast cancer surgery consists of two parts: the breast procedure and the axillary lymph node procedure. Breast surgeries are divided into breast-conserving surgery and total mastectomy. Axillary lymph node procedures include sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection. Chemotherapy follows the surgery, which is a grueling ordeal.

After Zhang Fan finished writing the requisition orders and the patient went for her examinations, Su Jing watched the patient walk away and sighed, "Sigh, how pitiful, and she's so young. Women of the appropriate age must get regular check-ups, otherwise it'll be too late for regrets." Once the preoperative examinations were completed, her surgery had to be scheduled.

In the Department of Breast and Glandular Surgery, cancer surgeries were primarily performed by the department director herself. The operation was not overly complex, but the elderly director refused to let her subordinates take the scalpel because it was too simple; if others performed it a few times and mastered it, she would lose her authority.

By the third day, because it was Su Jing’s patient, the director assigned Su Jing and Zhang Fan to assist in the cancer surgery. The old lady looked kind and benevolent on the surface, but according to Su Jing, she was utterly merciless when bullying people. Previously, a female doctor had locked horns with her over a treatment plan, resulting in the old lady freezing her out for a full year by barring her from the operating theater. With no other options left, that capable female doctor simply took the graduate entrance exams and left the hospital.

Breast cancer surgery is not difficult; the real challenge lies in the pathology. Rapid pathological examination puts a hospital's foundational capabilities to the ultimate test. Once the report is issued, the clinicians decide whether to perform a total mastectomy or a breast-conserving surgery based on the pathology results. The old lady was getting older and lacked the stamina to sit for long periods. She arranged for Zhang Fan and Su Jing to handle the preliminary steps of the surgery, while she would step in for the lymph node dissection. In the Department of Breast and Glandular Surgery, this operation was considered a major procedure.

Su Jing asked Zhang Fan, "Have you ever performed a total mastectomy before? If not, I'll do it." She was worried that Zhang Fan didn't know how.

Since an opportunity to perform surgery had presented itself, Zhang Fan certainly wasn't going to let it pass. "Senior Sister, don't worry. I perform this surgery all the time." Zhang Fan frequently performed it within his medical system interface, though it was his first time in reality; still, it held no particular difficulty.

When Zhang Fan washed up and stepped onto the operating table, the old lady was still chatting idly with the director of the anesthesiology department. The surgical steps were crystal clear in Zhang Fan's mind: incision, hemostasis—not a single moment was wasted. In just over ten minutes, Zhang Fan finished the procedure. How fast! Seeing that Zhang Fan was about to finish, Su Jing prepared to call the director into the theater, but just then, the old lady walked in.

Figuring that Su Jing would be slow and sometimes hesitant, the old lady hadn't even washed her hands yet; she merely came in to offer some guidance. But upon taking a look—goodness gracious! The procedure was already done, leaving only the lymph node dissection for her. Inspecting the incision and hemostasis closely, she found no flaws at all. Without a word, she turned and went straight to scrub her hands.

After scrubbing in, she began the lymph node dissection. As she worked, she remarked, "Su Jing, you've improved tremendously lately. Your surgical speed is much faster, and you're doing a great job."

Su Jing felt awkward and muttered, "Zhang Fan did it."

"Is that so?" The old lady glanced at Su Jing and then added, "Not bad. Young men really do have an advantage in surgery." This remark made Su Jing purse her lips in annoyance. Although the old lady was a woman herself, perhaps due to internalized rivalry, she never had a pleasant expression for young female doctors.

Although the old lady was quite domineering, she was truly skilled at surgery, and her lymph node dissection was exceptionally thorough. After finishing the operation, she instructed Zhang Fan and Su Jing, "Once you're back, write up the medical orders properly, give the patient and her family thorough instructions, and tell her to come back for regular chemotherapy after discharge."

Leaving the operating theater, Zhang Fan opened the computer specifically to look up historical breast cancer patient records, and the sheer volume left him utterly astonished. Due traditional mindsets and the city's relatively remote location, routine physical examinations for women had not been popularized. Things were slightly better for those working in urban areas, but in rural and pastoral areas, routine check-ups were virtually nonexistent, resulting in an exceptionally high incidence rate.

Once the disease struck, an ordinary family would instantly plummet from a moderately well-off status into poverty. There were countless cases of families being impoverished by illness. Although the state vigorously supported medical reform, once a person fell ill, they could no longer work and yet required increased nutrition, chemotherapy, and medication. It was truly a tragedy of humanity.

Breast cancer screening is very simple: young women receive color ultrasound scans while older women undergo mammography. Speaking of which, a reminder: it is best for you and your family members to undergo a physical examination once a year. Cherish your health.

Recently, Zhang Fan wasn't particularly busy because the Chinese New Year was approaching, and the sports school was on winter break. Not cooking for himself, Zhang Fan had a quick meal at the cafeteria and was preparing to return to the dormitory when Li Liang's call came through. "Brother Zhang, where are you? Director Chen and I came to the city for a business meeting. Are you busy? Let's get together."

Hearing that Old Chen and Li Liang had arrived in the urban area, Zhang Fan was delighted and quickly replied, "Not busy at all. Where are you? I'll come over to find you."

"Master, we're at the hotel right next to the city hospital. The business meeting lasts two days, and since today's session has ended, we wanted to see you."

"Alright, I'll be right there."

Following the release of the exam results, the hospital promptly removed Old Chen's acting status. His surgical skills were already top-tier in the county hospital, and now that his exam scores were in and Shi Lei backed him, he had finally made his breakthrough.

Old Chen and Li Liang were waiting for Zhang Fan at the hotel entrance, and they were thrilled to see him. Old Chen immediately pulled Zhang Fan into a bear hug. "Master, thank you so much. I passed! Haha! Today, let's go get something good to eat."

Li Liang stood to the side with a broad smile. Although he had passed the exam in his first year, without Zhang Fan serving as a role model at the hospital to encourage him and push him to study, there was a good chance he would have failed this year as well.

Zhang Fan had already eaten, but seeing how overjoyed Old Chen and Li Liang were, he didn't want to dampen their spirits. The three of them found a large-frontage hot pot restaurant. Unable to talk Old Chen out of it, the man ordered a lavish spread of food. In his own words, he wanted to splurge just this once; after so many years, he finally didn't have to live so humbly, so his master should just let him indulge himself.

Zhang Fan hadn't expected Old Chen to genuinely regard him as his master, completely without pretense. Looking at this disciple who was much older than himself, Zhang Fan felt a trace of pride.

Considering Zhang Fan's limited alcohol tolerance, the three of them ordered the local specialty, mare's milk wine—sweet and tart, a flavor newcomers certainly found hard to get used to. As they ate and drank, they chatted. "Master, will you stick with orthopedics in the future?"

"Not certain yet. We'll see when the time comes. Once the new hospital director takes office, there will be a rotation of departments; we can talk after that. What about you two? Do you have many patients now?"

Old Chen took a bite of meat and replied, "Pretty good. Now that Old Zou has handed surgery over to Shi Lei, Shi Lei is very supportive of me and even gave special instructions that whenever surgical experts need to be invited in the future, you should be the one called, with the compensation paid at the rate of a city hospital director."

"Hehe, we'll talk about it later." Zhang Fan didn't know what else to say.

Li Liang chimed in with a question, "Brother Zhang, do you think I should take the exam for the city hospital next year? Now that Director Chen is in charge and takes special care of me, I'm afraid I won't be able to get into the surgical department if I transfer to the city hospital. But I really love surgery and truly don't want to work in internal medicine."

Zhang Fan glanced at Old Chen. Old Chen immediately spoke up, "When young people have an opportunity to rise, they should go out and make a breakthrough. I won't hold you back. If I were ten or twenty years older, I'd come to the city too, but I'm too old now and have missed my chance."

Hearing Old Chen's words, Zhang Fan knew he was genuinely looking out for Li Liang. After pondering for a moment, Zhang Fan said, "It's best if you can secure a surgical position. If you can't, staying in the county isn't bad either. Let Old Chen guide you for a few years. Once your surgical skills mature, it won't be too late to come to the city—you'll still have to rotate departments if you come here anyway. You need to plan things out yourself; what will you do if you can't get into surgery?"

None of the three got drunk. Primarily driven by happiness rather than drinking, Zhang Fan formed a plan in his mind through his conversation with Old Chen and Li Liang, one he might put into practice once the opportunity matured.