6 hours ago
It’s been three months since my husband was last able to receive any anti-cancer treatment.
These past three months have truly been brutal for him. Jaundice, infections, and now two additional tubes in his abdomen — he currently has three drains in total. He has been hospitalized continuously for three months.
He has been fighting cancer for two years and three months, going through multiple lines of treatment. Because he can no longer tolerate chemotherapy, we are now limited to trying targeted therapies. In fact, he has already been treated with many HER2-targeted drugs: disitamab vedotin, trastuzumab, pertuzumab, pyrotinib, tucatinib… almost everything available has been tried.
So I am aware that this next step may not bring a strong response.
But my husband is very clear that he does not want chemotherapy anymore. So all we can do now is try a new drug, zanidatamab.
His liver function still has not met the ideal criteria for treatment. His total bilirubin is still 99. Two weeks ago he had a severe infection, and MRI showed very rapid progression. About a month ago, the largest liver tumor was 5.7 cm — now it has grown to 8.3 cm.
To try to create a window for treatment, I asked the doctor to use dexamethasone, hoping his bilirubin could drop closer to 50. But after two weeks, the lowest it has reached is still 99.
I know there are still multiple obstructed bile ducts, but he no longer has the physical or emotional strength to undergo another drainage procedure.
Yesterday he received his first infusion of zanidatamab. The side effects were stronger than we expected.
The nurse had warned us about possible fever and advised us to prepare acetaminophen. At first, I didn’t think much of it and didn’t give it preemptively. Later, my husband said, “Maybe I should take it anyway.”
Shortly after taking it, he developed severe chills. Then the fever escalated to 39.5°C. After acetaminophen started to work, the fever gradually came down.
This morning he still felt very unwell — extremely tired and without appetite. He only ate a small breakfast. When we returned to the ward and checked his temperature, it was 38°C again. This time he did not take any antipyretics, and after sleeping, the fever slowly resolved on its own.
In the afternoon, after waking from a nap, he felt noticeably better and was able to eat again. Before going to sleep, he even asked me to cook him five tangyuan.
In that moment, I felt genuinely happy.
Even if it’s only brief relief — even if it’s just being able to eat a little, or having a bit of energy — for us right now, that already feels incredibly precious.
He has been fighting cancer for two years and three months, going through multiple lines of treatment. Because he can no longer tolerate chemotherapy, we are now limited to trying targeted therapies. In fact, he has already been treated with many HER2-targeted drugs: disitamab vedotin, trastuzumab, pertuzumab, pyrotinib, tucatinib… almost everything available has been tried.
So I am aware that this next step may not bring a strong response.
But my husband is very clear that he does not want chemotherapy anymore. So all we can do now is try a new drug, zanidatamab.
His liver function still has not met the ideal criteria for treatment. His total bilirubin is still 99. Two weeks ago he had a severe infection, and MRI showed very rapid progression. About a month ago, the largest liver tumor was 5.7 cm — now it has grown to 8.3 cm.
To try to create a window for treatment, I asked the doctor to use dexamethasone, hoping his bilirubin could drop closer to 50. But after two weeks, the lowest it has reached is still 99.
I know there are still multiple obstructed bile ducts, but he no longer has the physical or emotional strength to undergo another drainage procedure.
Yesterday he received his first infusion of zanidatamab. The side effects were stronger than we expected.
The nurse had warned us about possible fever and advised us to prepare acetaminophen. At first, I didn’t think much of it and didn’t give it preemptively. Later, my husband said, “Maybe I should take it anyway.”
Shortly after taking it, he developed severe chills. Then the fever escalated to 39.5°C. After acetaminophen started to work, the fever gradually came down.
This morning he still felt very unwell — extremely tired and without appetite. He only ate a small breakfast. When we returned to the ward and checked his temperature, it was 38°C again. This time he did not take any antipyretics, and after sleeping, the fever slowly resolved on its own.
In the afternoon, after waking from a nap, he felt noticeably better and was able to eat again. Before going to sleep, he even asked me to cook him five tangyuan.
In that moment, I felt genuinely happy.
Even if it’s only brief relief — even if it’s just being able to eat a little, or having a bit of energy — for us right now, that already feels incredibly precious.