Twelve years ago, Monika (pseudonym) witnessed her mother’s fight with cancer; today, she finds herself in the same battle.
In October 2025, 34-year-old Monika went for her annual health checkup. Young, vibrant, and living a harmonious life, everything seemed right on track. But her medical report struck like a bolt from the blue: a painless, 1 cm mass in her right breast. The needle biopsy confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma—Luminal B, HER2-positive subtype.
Consulting hospitals across Indonesia and Singapore, the consensus remained the same: surgical resection.
Monika resisted surgery. She refused to endure the physical and emotional trauma of losing a breast on top of the diagnosis itself. Furthermore, a total mastectomy is highly invasive, making post-operative recovery and breast reconstruction daunting challenges. She wondered if Guangzhou Fuda Cancer Hospital could offer a different path—such as cryoablation.
This wasn't a random thought. Twelve years prior, her mother was diagnosed with tongue cancer after suffering from recurrent mouth ulcers. At Fuda, her mother received local cryoablation combined with interventional chemotherapy. Once the tumor shrank, only a localized radical resection was needed, leaving her speech and swallowing functions virtually unaffected. Today, twelve years later, her mother remains healthy and cancer-free. With friends also recommending China's specialized oncology care, Fuda naturally re-emerged as her top choice.
Photo: Professor Zeng Zongyuan, Head and Neck Oncology Expert, examining Monika’s mother
"I trusted that the medical technology would be even more advanced after 12 years," she shared. After diving into literature on cryotherapy for breast cancer and conducting remote consultations, Monika booked her flight to Guangzhou.
In late April 2026, Monika was admitted to Ward 4 of Fuda Cancer Hospital. Comprehensive checkups revealed three lesions in her right breast (all categorized as BI-RADS 6), a BI-RADS 4a nodule in her left breast, and a slightly enlarged right axillary lymph node.
Given the clear diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma in the right breast and no evidence of distant metastasis, the medical team initially recommended surgical resection paired with a sentinel lymph node biopsy. However, Monika stood firm on her decision to avoid surgery.
Following extensive discussions, the medical team tailored a personalized comprehensive treatment plan for her:
· Neoadjuvant Interventional Chemotherapy: Deliver high concentrations of medication directly to the tumor to shrink it;
· Cryoablation: Precisely target and freeze the breast tumor cells, alongside a right axillary lymph node biopsy (which came back negative for cancer);
· Post-operative Interventional Chemotherapy: Consolidate the therapeutic results;
· Systemic Targeted Therapy: Maintain continuous support throughout the treatment course.
The entire strategy was designed like a precision operation, balancing local treatment with systemic care—steady, thorough, and methodical.
Photo: Dr. Zhang Ying, Attending Physician of Ward 4, conducting ward rounds
Even before starting chemotherapy, Monika knew hair loss was a common side effect. By her second interventional session, her hair began to fall out. Though minimal, it still weighed on her mind. Encouraged by her child, she walked into a salon and shaved off her thick, curly hair. In Indonesia, a shaved head on a woman is rare, yet looking in the mirror, she felt an unprecedented sense of liberation.
Photo: Monika smiling brightly in her hospital room
"Instead of watching my hair fall out day by day, I decided to press the reset button myself." From that moment, her mindset shifted. She stopped relying on fast food, quit burning the midnight oil, and began eating well, sleeping deeply, and slowing down to savor life. Today, her health is making steady progress.
Photo: Hospital leadership presenting Monika with the Cancer Fighting Warrior Certificate
From mother to daughter, across twelve years, they fought their battles in the very same place, driven by the same uncompromising spirit. Moving from a witness to a survivor, Monika’s clean-shaved head became her proudest badge of honor—not a symbol of loss, but a testament to her courage.
