The number of cancer patients seeking the best chance for cure out of the country in China is growing.
One story posted online in 2014 has gone viral in China, which marked the new era of "ordinary" cancer patients-not the super riches or the high rank government officials are taking going abroad for second opinion or treatment into their consideration.
In that story, a spine cancer (Giant cell tumor) patient from Hangzhou, China, shared his journey going to a US hospital(University of California San Francisco UCSF Medical Center) for second opinion in 2012. He was suggested to choose radiation instead of risky surgery, and his tumor was magically disappeared after the treatment.
What impressed him was not only the outcome, but also the attention he got during the doctor-patient encountering. He got 5 minutes' dialogue about treatment choices with the best oncologist in the specialty, and yet he got detailed explanation from an American physician. The top doctors in China were simply overwhelmed by their patient's volumes.
By providing translation, doctor selection, visa and travel services, interpreter etc., many agency companies opened business to target this market, hopefully to build the rainbow bridge.
Japan, England, and America are among the top choice list, and going to the best cancer hospitals in U.S. appears to be the most popular choice.
Mayo clinic, Massachusetts General Hospitals(MGH),Texas MD Anderson's and Cleveland Clinic etc. are seemingly more commonly introduced to Chinese patients from those agency companies' websites.
From Saint Lucia Consulting), a noticeable agency company in this field, the number of patients gone to MGH for treatment through its' service has increased from single digits to about 100 in 2014.
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| A Chinese patient's view at MGH Source: stluciabj.com |
According to Donna T. Walthall, Marketing Director at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute(DFCI) , Harvard Medical School, the number of Chinese patients going to DFCI, is definitely increasing from the record, although no specific number is available at this moment.
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| Donna T. Walthall, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Picture taken at NCCN 20th annual conference, Hollywood, FL |
Language barrier, advanced malignancy cancer stages, clinical trial admission and continuous care are challenging issues remained to be addressed for this group of patients.
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