Profile: Chinese cancer doctor's volunteer journey filled with love

SHANGHAI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Beitun City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is the hometown of Han Baosan, director of the Breast Surgery Department of Xinhua Hospital affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Moreover, since 2012, Han has made it his yearly mission to visit this destination and offer free diagnosis and treatment services for breast diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer became the most diagnosed cancer worldwide in 2020. During this period, nearly 2.3 million new cases of breast cancer were reported, surpassing the number of new lung cancer cases for the first time. In China, breast cancer ranks as the most common cancer among women.

"Early detection, and early diagnosis and treatment are particularly crucial for patients with breast cancer, which can effectively reduce the mortality rate," Han, 51, told Xinhua ahead of the World Cancer Day, which falls on Sunday this year.

However, the breast cancer screening coverage in China is lower than that of developed countries, especially in rural and remote areas, Han said. This results in many cases of breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body before the disease is diagnosed, he noted.

After graduation from Xinjiang Medical University, Han entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to research breast cancer. Now, he has become a renowned expert in breast cancer plastic surgery in China, and he has given more than 300 speeches at academic conferences.

"I grew up in Xinjiang, so I have always felt that I have the responsibility to do something for the healthcare there," Han said.

Since 2012, he has traveled to Beitun to help improve medical services by giving free breast disease diagnosis and treatment. Every year, he passes on his experience and knowledge to local doctors in major hospitals as a volunteer.

Whenever Han visited Xinjiang, he was well-received by residents, and he has also made many friends with local doctors and patients.

As more doctors joined him, Han officially launched a volunteer project called "Heart to Heart" with nearly 100 doctors nationwide supported by China Women's Development Foundation, to encourage experts to provide free medical services in rural and remote areas.

In his view, the essence of being a volunteer is spreading love. "From the very beginning, I volunteered to provide free medical services in Xinjiang on my own. Then more medical experts joined me, and most of them are famous doctors from first-tier cities," Han said emotionally.

Up to now, the footprint of the volunteer organization has covered 15 provinces and autonomous regions in China. The group has continuously promoted prevention and the early detection of breast cancer, having carried out more than 400 operations for free after screening 40,000 people.

"There have been so many great moments and precious memories forged during the 'Heart to Heart' journey," Han said, adding that one of the most challenging tasks was when the medical crew operated 15 surgeries in 23 hours without a break in Gansu Province.

A shortage of medical professionals is one of the key problems holding back the development of healthcare. Wherever Han and his peers go, the volunteer group would try to help grassroots healthcare workers improve their skills.

An outline for "Healthy China 2030" issued in 2016 calls for optimizing health for women and children and promoting the early diagnosis and treatment of common diseases among women.

"Healthcare awareness in less developed areas still needs further improvement. There is still a long way to go," said Han.

Apart from breast cancer screening coverage, the proportion of breast-conserving surgery and breast reconstruction in China is also relatively low compared with developed countries.

"The treatment of breast cancer should not only focus on the disease, but also on how the patients feel," Han said, advocating using the "circumareolar incision technique" to avoid inappropriate surgical methods which might affect the quality of life of patients.

Speaking of the plan for the future, Han said the first plan is to write popular science books related to breast diseases, and the second is to lend a helping hand to more places.

"'Heart to Heart' is a journey with love and dream as well," Han said. "I have a dream that the footprint of my volunteer journey will cover all provincial-level regions across China before retirement."