Chapter 237: A Doctor’s Compassion

Most people are simple at heart—kind, decent and honest.

This female patient had a stubborn sense of pride. She’d rather go hungry than accept a free meal from Zhou Can.

If only her fate had rested with someone trustworthy, how different things might have been.

So young, yet already battered and abused to this state. If she had managed to escape that monstrous man sooner, none of this would have happened.

In a world where men outnumber women, a woman with her qualities could easily find a good, reliable man and live happily.

Zhou Can offered a few words of comfort and didn’t press further.

He went to the cafeteria to eat, then brought back a packed meal for her.

“Chen Xiaohong, I hope these dishes suit your taste. Until your mom arrives, I’m afraid you’ll have to make do for now.”

Zhou Can set the food on her bedside table.

Though she looked weak, she could still handle her daily routine without help.

That’s the only reason the inpatient unit agreed to admit her without a companion.

“You… actually bought food for me! I—I don’t have any money on me right now. Can I pay you back later?”

Overwhelmed, the woman was nearly in tears, her words stumbling out.

A doctor’s job is to diagnose and treat, not to look after a patient’s daily needs.

“Let’s not talk about money, it ruins the mood. After you’re better, if I ever visit your hometown, you can treat me to a meal. Then we’ll be even. Go on, eat! Do you know what happens to your stomach tumor if you skip a meal?”

Zhou Can looked at her seriously.

“What happens?”

She sat up, opened the container and saw the steaming meal. Suddenly, her nose tingled and her eyes filled with tears.

For the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely cared for.

It had been ages since anyone showed her this kind of kindness.

“Every time you skip a meal, your stomach tumor grows by a tenth. Skip ten meals and it doubles.”

Keeping a straight face, Zhou Can made up a harmless lie.

But the truth remained: going without food would only make her weaker, lower her immunity and accelerate the spread of cancer.

Still, as for skipping ten meals doubling the tumor size—that was entirely Zhou Can’s invention.

“I didn’t know not eating could have such serious consequences!” She obviously believed him.

“The reality might be even worse. That’s why you need to eat your meals on time and keep your nutrition balanced. Let me tell you, besides life and death, everything else is minor. Your tumor is only stage two. As long as you get proper treatment, your outcomes should be great. Hang in there!”

Zhou Can gave her some encouragement.

“I will!”

She bit her lip, trying hard not to cry.

Zhou Can headed over to Bed 79.

This time, a middle-aged woman, about the same age as the female lawyer, was sitting by the bedside. For some reason, Zhou Can felt a distinct aura of a doctor from her.

Could she be a medical worker too?

“This is my good friend, Cao Shan. She came to visit me when she heard I was admitted here.”

The female lawyer smiled and introduced her friend to Zhou Can.

“Hello, Ms. Cao!”

Zhou Can greeted her politely.

Cao Shan stood up and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, doctor! You’re truly a breath of fresh air.” After the brief handshake, Zhou Can was getting ready to ask the female lawyer if she’d had any diarrhea recently.

Cao Shan lowered her voice. “I’ve never seen any medical literature claiming fasting ten times would double a tumor’s size. You bought food for the patient and told a harmless lie to help her eat. You’re the warmest doctor I’ve ever met.”

So she was indeed a fellow in the medical field.

But which hospital did she work at?

She probably wasn’t a doctor at Tuyu Hospital.

Otherwise, she’d have been wearing the hospital uniform.

“You’re too kind.”

Zhou Can replied modestly, then looked back at the female lawyer.

“Ms. Gong, I’d like to ask if you’ve had any diarrhea lately?”

Now that she had eaten, it seemed the right time to ask.

“It happens occasionally. Especially lately—it felt like every few days. I bought some anti-diarrhea meds and that helped a lot.”

She hadn’t mentioned this during her medical history.

A lot of patients tend to overlook issues like this.

They usually only mention it when they’re having a current episode.

It generally takes continuous diarrhea to get a patient’s attention. Most people don’t worry about a few loose stools.

Now that Zhou Can had his answer, he hurried off to update her records.

He needed to go to the outpatient clinic with Director Shang at one. Time was tight.

“Diarrhea adds another symptom. What’s really causing this female lawyer’s issues?”

Zhou Can wracked his brain, searching for her true diagnosis.

Suddenly, a possible answer flashed in his mind—one disease fit the symptoms. Portal vein thrombosis.

It’s a rare condition.

A portal vein thrombosis can occur in any part of the portal vein.

Most cases have an unknown cause.

From clinical experience, it can be associated with things like suppurative portal phlebitis, cholecystitis, nearby lymphadenitis, pancreatitis, or liver abscess.

It’s also believed to be related to varicose veins.

Diagnosing it is genuinely tricky.

Even seasoned doctors often overlook it.

Both ultrasound and CT scans can spot the problem in theory, at least for doctors with enough experience.

But for a solid diagnosis, angiography or MRI is needed.

Angiography is usually the first choice.

Depending on the location, you can do a splenic portal vein or superior mesenteric artery angiogram. With the contrast images, you can confirm if it’s a portal vein thrombosis.

Unlike common cardiovascular or cranial artery blockages, a portal vein thrombosis is a silent killer.

Some patients endure the pain for ages before finally seeking help.

Others have an acute crisis and end up rushed to the ER.

These patients get intense belly pain near the navel—comes and goes in waves, sometimes with nausea, vomiting, bloody stool, vomited blood or sudden diarrhea.

The female lawyer’s illness had already lasted over a month. Her symptoms only looked mildly severe.

Zhou Can still couldn’t be sure this was her illness.

Later, he could discuss it with Director Shang during their outpatient shift—maybe get a real answer.

At the very least, he could suggest an angiography.

For cases like this, the hospital doesn’t worry about excess tests. If the attending doctor thinks it’s necessary and won’t harm the patient, it gets approved.

Zhou Can thought about his afternoon at the outpatient clinic. The stomach cancer patient in Bed 77 and the cirrhosis patient in Bed 79 weren’t critical, both stable for now.

But the patient in Bed 71 with esophageal anastomotic leak and blockage concerned him.

Time to pop back to the ward and check on things, just to be safe.

If everything looked good, he’d feel much more at ease.

Back in the ward, a nurse was giving the patient in Bed 71 a nutritional IV. Intravenous nutrition was the only way to keep him going now.

His esophagus to jejunum was completely blocked—he couldn’t swallow anything.

Even his own saliva had to be spit out immediately.

Nobody could truly understand that kind of suffering but the patient himself.

Zhou Can’s visit lit up Bed 71’s patient and his family. After all, Zhou Can’s spot-on diagnosis of Bed 73’s patient had already proven his skill.

“Dr. Zhou, you’re here!”

The family members greeted Zhou Can with the utmost respect.

Everyone trusted him—his skill as a physician was obvious.

“How’s it going? If all’s well, we’ll set up the surgery tomorrow. Make sure your loved one stays warm tonight—don’t let him catch cold.”

Zhou Can left more instructions for the family.

He bent down to check the patient’s condition himself.

Not bad—weak overall, but all vital signs were stable.

In theory, not just for one afternoon, but even a few more days here, his condition shouldn’t take a sudden turn.

After looking in on all his own patients, Zhou Can instinctively glanced at the rest of the beds in the ward.

He’d promised Duan Zifu and Yu Xin he’d help out while they were away—all doctors in his group should have each other’s backs.

Yu Xin, for her part, was now totally different—her attitude toward Zhou Can had done a complete 180.

She was no longer the cold, distant figure she used to be, like someone you owed millions to.

The patient in Bed 73, who’d had pancreatic duct stone removal, was Zhou Can’s biggest concern.

After fluid therapy, his condition had improved.

But he still seemed to be in constant pain.

“Dr. Zhou, my husband’s had diarrhea over ten times today already. He’s completely exhausted. Are you sure he’ll be okay with no meds?”

His family voiced their worries directly to Zhou Can.

Compared to Yu Xin, they felt more comfortable trusting Zhou Can.

That’s how most families were. Whoever seemed the most capable—that’s who earned their trust.

“Judging from his vital record, things still look okay. His third line of immune defense appears to have kicked in. I think you’ll see a turnaround by six or seven this evening.”

After checking again, Zhou Can explained.

“Once the inactive macrophages get reactivated, not only do they double in size, but they also move much faster. They’ll unleash powerful toxins deadly to salmonella bacteria.”

“At this point, salmonella doesn’t stand a chance—the macrophages will wipe them out and the immune system will finish the job.”

“Victory is almost certain.”

“But if things don’t improve by tomorrow, we’ll have to intervene with medication.”

That would mean serious complications had cropped up—like typhoid or sepsis.

At that stage, his body would be fighting on too many fronts and the whole defense system could collapse.

Without drug intervention, the patient could die in no time.

“Alright, we’ll wait and see.”

The family placed their trust in Zhou Can and agreed to let things play out.

“Did you know, every time the immune system successfully beats a disease, it gets stronger? As our country’s healthcare advances, pediatricians now agree: don’t rush to medicate a baby’s cold, especially with antibiotics. Don’t overuse them.”

“Let the baby’s own immune system and the antibodies in breast milk do the work. If they can stick it out, the baby’s immune system will be much tougher. After a few rounds, by the time they’re weaned at one, they’ll easily handle the challenges of the world.”

“Your husband’s an adult, but it’s the same principle. Each battle only makes that system stronger.”

That’s what Zhou Can told the family.

Whether or not they accepted or understood the theory didn’t matter just then.

Still, as a doctor, sharing useful basic medical knowledge with families was a good deed—meaningful and helpful.

These days, people in China are much more health-conscious, thanks to the efforts of countless doctors.

Bit by bit, day after day, people’s knowledge adds up. They go home and share with family and friends.

Like that, everyone’s awareness improves.

Hardly anyone used to exercise daily, but now it’s become a national trend.

More and more people are joining in and sticking with it.

Even the misuse of antibiotics is being curbed.

Anyone with a little medical sense won’t go running to a clinic for an IV every time they’re sick. People know now the dangers of abusing antibiotics.

These changes are all positive.

After checking on the patient in Bed 73, Zhou Can looked back at the family.

“I suggest you also get screened for salmonella. It’s simple, cheap and barely uncomfortable. If there’s ever a problem, early detection will save you a lot of trouble.”

He said it kindly.

“I’m alright! I feel just fine. Besides, even if my husband caught salmonella, all you did was give fluids—no need for medicine. I’m healthy. Even if I were infected, I’d get over it.”

The family declined Zhou Can’s suggestion.

She politely refused.

Zhou Can didn’t push any further.

Any more insistence, and they’d think he was chasing commissions.

In truth, he was only a trainee—there were zero commissions. He earned nothing but his base salary.

Sometimes he wondered if the three-year trainee program existed just to cut labor costs.

When Zhou Can returned to the office, Director Shang hadn’t shown up. Instead, the nurse called and said that unless he was busy with urgent matters, he should report to Outpatient Department’s Specialist Clinic 1 immediately.

Director Shang’s shift was in the Gastroenterology Department’s number one specialist clinic—a sign he was the most experienced and accomplished chief physician here.

Zhou Can gave a quick update to the attending doctor and hurried over to the outpatient department.

Usually, the attending is nominally a specialist, but in practice, the Chief Resident handles much of the real work.

The Chief Resident was a sharp operator. When she heard Director Shang wanted Zhou Can at the clinic, she felt a bit envious—and respected him more.

She agreed without hesitation, telling Zhou Can to relax and focus on learning.

That kind of unspoken status boost felt great to Zhou Can.

During his intern year, he’d been at the Chief Resident’s beck and call—like a servant, sometimes even getting scolded.

Now, even those at that level spoke to him with respect.