Chapter 272: A Glimmer of Hope in the Quiet Hospital

This young doctor was full of surprises. He worked with humility and kept a low profile, yet he was decisive and carried himself with quiet confidence. Most importantly, his diagnostic skills were top notch.

So impressive that even she, a leading expert in obstetrics and gynecology, couldn’t help but applaud.

From the moment Zhou Can walked over to delivering his diagnosis, there wasn’t a single dull moment.

He was crisp, efficient, and his diagnostic approach was crystal clear.

Compared to those flashy doctors who only showed off without substance, he was on a whole different level.

Against the backdrop of those vain young doctors, Zhou Can was like a breath of fresh air. He just had that spark that made people sit up and take notice.

“I can’t say I’m completely certain. My conclusion is based on the patient’s symptoms and my own clinical experience. I think her primary disease likely started in the stomach. Let me explain my reasoning with four points. First, tumors don’t form overnight—they need time to grow and have to evade the body’s immune defenses to become true tumors. Her ovarian tumors are numerous, but they’re small. That strongly suggests that the tumor cells spread from somewhere else, like the stomach, to the ovaries.”

Zhou Can explained his diagnostic reasoning calmly, in no rush at all.

“Second, the kinds of ovarian tumors that young women usually get are fairly limited—like yolk sac tumor, dysgerminoma, or teratoma. But her ovarian tumors aren’t any of these, which makes it even more likely they’re metastatic.”

“Third, her pain is in her upper abdomen—her stomach area. Ovarian tumors typically only cause pain in the lower abdomen. With how tumors usually metastasize, spreading from top to bottom or side to side is more common. So, I think the tumor started in her stomach, went unnoticed, and eventually metastasized to her ovaries. For example, a Krukenberg tumor is a classic case where gastrointestinal cancers spread to the ovaries.”

“Last point—she’s been feeling nauseous, vomiting, and has reflux, which also hints at stomach issues. Stomach tumors can go unnoticed because their symptoms are subtle, and they’re hard to detect early. Sadly, a lot of cases are already advanced once discovered.”

Zhou Can laid out each piece of evidence behind his conclusion.

After hearing all that, if it weren’t for the serious setting, even Director Zhang Bihua would have wanted to give him a round of applause.

“You’ve all heard Dr. Zhou’s diagnostic analysis. If you’re willing, I can schedule an endoscopy to check the stomach right away. But be prepared—the results might not be what you hope for.”

Director Zhang Bihua gently warned the patient and her family so they’d be ready for whatever news came.

Even if the worst-case scenario happened, they’d at least have some mental preparation.

“We agree to the endoscopy. Director Zhang, I beg you, please save my daughter—she’s so young, her baby isn’t even weaned yet…” The girl’s mother choked up before she could finish.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

The young patient was even more terrified and lost.

No patient is ever ready to face something like this. It’s a devastating blow for anyone.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. Illness isn’t to be feared. If we stay strong, optimistic, and brave, there’s always a chance to beat it.” Director Zhang Bihua quickly tried to comfort the girl’s mother.

Yang Chan also pulled out a pack of tissues, took one, and handed it to the family.

With the endoscopy scheduled for the patient, she was sent off for the test right away.

Since Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital had so few patients these days, there was hardly ever a wait for tests. Everything could be done quickly and the results came back fast.

Director Tian wasn’t with the visiting experts from Tuyu Hospital out in the central clinic. Instead, he was upstairs watching the waiting room through his office window.

To be honest, inviting the Tuyu Hospital team here made him extremely anxious.

It felt like a mix of nerves and anticipation.

But what worried him most was that higher expectations might only lead to greater disappointment.

So far, the experts’ arrival hadn’t brought in the bustling crowds he imagined. The clinic was still quiet.

Any hospital director would feel terrible watching their hospital decline like this under their management.

Director Tian felt a deep sense of guilt and his biggest hope right now was to restore Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital to its former glory. But breaking something is always easier than fixing it.

A bowl can shatter in an instant.

But crafting a new one takes dozens of steps—from selecting the clay, mixing the ingredients, forming the bowl, firing it, applying the glaze, and firing it again.

Any mistake at any step could ruin the whole piece.

Xinxiang Maternity and Child Hospital was the result of over seventy years of hard work by several generations. Now, one medical accident had nearly pushed it to the brink of closure. The heartbreak was hard to put into words.

With Director Tian anxious to save the hospital, he now paid even more attention to Zhou Can’s stand-out performance.

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It was like spotting a light in the darkness.

“Who is that young doctor? He seems pretty impressive.”

The administrator standing behind Director Tian shook his head. “I don’t know him. I only recognize the big names from Tuyu Hospital—and that overseas PhD, Du Leng. Lots of hospitals tried hard to recruit Du Leng, but he chose Tuyu Hospital. He’s definitely got brains and credentials. Turns out, his choice was right. In less than two years, he’s already been promoted to attending physician.”

Graduating from a prestigious overseas university and having a doctorate made it easy for Du Leng to get noticed.

Plenty of hospitals had their eyes on him.

But right now, compared to Zhou Can, even he seemed a little lacking.

Zhou Can had just made a tough diagnosis, while Du Leng was still talking theory with no real breakthroughs.

Don’t be fooled by the patients and families crowding around Du Leng and looking at him with worship in their eyes. They didn’t come here to hear a lecture—if he couldn’t cure their illnesses, they’d move on pretty quick.

Having finished helping diagnose the complicated case with the two chief physicians, Zhou Can got ready to head back to his seat.

Yang Chan fixed her gaze on him, blinking with curiosity.

“It’s been over a year and I’m shocked by how much your diagnostic skills have improved. Plus, your foundation in medical knowledge is way stronger than before. I remember that used to be your weak spot.”

While Yang Chan sang his praises, Zhou Can remained calm and modest.

“You’re just imagining things. That’s all in your head, you know?”

He played it humble on the surface, but inside he was happy as could be.

Basic medical knowledge had always been his weakness, so getting to show off for once in front of her felt fantastic.

After hundreds of days and nights of grinding through textbooks and patching his gaps, the rewards were finally showing up.

Whether it was in the operating room, the clinic, or the wards, having solid core knowledge was a must.

Even prescribing medication required that strong medical foundation.

Otherwise, the drugs you prescribe might not work—or could even cause harm.

Yang Chan huffed and ignored him.

Judging by her expression, she clearly didn’t believe a word of his modesty.

After Zhou Can and Deputy Director Shi returned to their seats, they kept getting the cold shoulder.

That’s just how things work—patients always go for the big names first.

Given the choice, almost everyone would rather see the most famous doctor.

Meanwhile, Du Leng had just finished diagnosing two more patients.

Not that he’d completely solved their problems—he’d just given them some grand explanations, ordered tests, and sent them off for lab work. Just then, an extremely obese woman, helped by her family, waddled their way.

She moved in a way that made it seem like the ground itself was shaking.

You could almost feel the floor trembling under her steps.

A rough guess put her weight at around two hundred and seventy or eighty pounds.

She probably couldn’t even see her own hands while eating, and catching a glimpse of her toes would have been out of the question.

Anyone that overweight—man or woman—has to look for the reasons in themselves first.

Parents who spoil their kids, a lack of control over food, and refusing to diet after becoming overweight—it all adds up to becoming super obese.

“Finally, a patient is coming to see us.”

Deputy Director Shi eyed the severely obese woman with a hint of anticipation on his face.

Extreme obesity is a medical condition of its own.

It’s easy to go from living simply to living extravagantly, but nearly impossible to reverse.

It takes little effort to go from thin to fat—just overeat and skip exercise, and the weight piles on. But slimming down takes more than ten times the effort.

That journey is anything but easy.

No wonder weight loss pills sell so well.

People buy them even knowing they’re bad for you, paying top dollar in hopes of shedding pounds.

Especially for women, being too overweight can hurt their looks, make them feel unattractive, and get in the way of jobs and relationships.

“Dr. Du, please take a look at our daughter. She suddenly stops breathing in her sleep, which really scares us.” The obese woman didn’t go to their table, but headed straight for Du Leng’s.

This kind of sleep apnea is actually better handled in a respiratory clinic.

But with that ‘overseas PhD’ title, all Zhou Can and Deputy Director Shi could do was watch enviously.

“That ‘overseas PhD’ reputation sure is gold.”

Deputy Director Shi muttered under his breath, a bit sour.

“That’s why so many people want a foreign education!”

But Zhou Can never assumed all overseas grads were brilliant.

When it came to students who’d studied abroad, he kept an open mind.

The ones who earn a spot in an elite school with real ability, work hard, and bring home a degree—those are truly top-tier talents.

When they graduate, even foreign immigration offices try hard to keep them.

But then there are the ones who just pay their way for a diploma—maybe earning a master’s in a year or two abroad.

That’s because getting into grad school at home is just too hard for them.

So, by taking a shortcut, they can get a master’s degree much easier, then come home to find a job at a big company or work for a state-owned giant.

Those degrees are usually pretty watered down, and their actual skills may not even match up to a local undergrad.

From what he’d seen, though, Du Leng was probably the real deal.

He obviously knew his stuff, but his pride and sense of superiority since coming home made him less practical.

He gave off the feeling of style over substance.

The super obese woman glanced at the plastic stool by the exam desk and hesitated.

Standing for long was exhausting for her. She’d already walked a long way and badly needed to sit.

But this thin plastic stool probably couldn’t handle her weight.

“Get her a sturdy chair—if she breaks that stool, so what, but if she gets hurt, there’s no way a couple of us could lift her!”

Director Tian had been watching the scene unfold from his office upstairs.

As soon as he saw the woman about to sit, he got worried.

Luckily, a quick-thinking nurse persuaded the woman to wait a moment while they fetched a proper chair.

Soon, a hospital aide brought over a metal chair.

It looked much sturdier.

The woman eased herself onto it, and everyone around held their breath, anxious for the chair.

When she sat, the chair groaned, sounding like it might give way at any second.

It was Du Leng’s first time examining someone this large, and her sheer presence made him noticeably lose his confidence.

“Hello, can you tell me when her breathing first started stopping during sleep?”

“I can’t really remember—probably three or four years ago. We brought her to big hospitals, ran lots of tests, tried different medications, but nothing worked,” said her family.

One of the patient’s parents, a man who looked around fifty, set a folder full of medical records down in front of Du Leng.

The folder was packed with test results.

Du Leng went through the records in detail.

“Her sleep apnea is most likely due to obesity, not a neurological issue. Excess fat can cut down the airway’s cross-sectional area and make the neck much thicker. As fat builds up around her neck, her upper airway narrows more and more.

When she sleeps, her throat muscles lose tension, letting her airway collapse and causing her to stop breathing.”

After reading the test results and giving the patient a basic exam, Du Leng gave his verdict.

No denying, his medical knowledge was solid and his reasoning made sense—so much so that the surrounding staff nodded along.

Still, this time the family wasn’t buying it.

“Dr. Du, that’s what doctors at other hospitals told us too. She already had surgery to fix her airway. She did get better, but sometimes the apnea still happens.”

Her family explained.

“I didn’t see any surgical records in your documents,” Du Leng replied. If there had been any, he would have spotted them right away.

“The surgery was over four years ago, so we lost the paperwork a long time ago,” the woman’s mother quickly explained.

“I see. Let me examine her again.”

Du Leng fiddled with his exam, but couldn’t find another cause beside obesity.

“How about this: I’ll order her a CT scan and bronchoscopy. When the results come back, we’ll take it from there. It’s possible the surgery didn’t help as much as hoped, or that her airway narrowed again as she gained more weight.”

Trusting him, the family agreed right away.

Tests ordered, they went off to get checked.

Meanwhile, Zhou Can and Deputy Director Shi had no patients and nothing to do but watch Du Leng with this case.

From the family’s story, her heavy breathing when she walked, and her thick neck, Zhou Can suspected her sleep apnea wasn’t purely about the airway.

Lots of things could cause those symptoms—and if you only focused on the obesity, you might miss the real diagnosis.

Once the bronchoscopy was done, the result would tell the story.

Whether it was the previous ovarian tumor patient getting an endoscopy, or this obese woman preparing for bronchoscopy, both procedures required fasting for four to six hours.

Bronchoscopies are usually done under local anesthesia and carry low risk.

Chances were, results wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon.