Parhat Ahmat had almost given up. Diagnosed with lung cancer and left paralyzed by complications from immunotherapy, the 41-year-old believed his life was nearing its end.
He left Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where he had undergone chemotherapy and immunotherapy last summer, and returned home to Shanshan county in Turpan, having essentially resigned himself to palliative care.
Then his family heard about a group of experienced specialists from Central China's Hunan province working at Shanshan County People's Hospital as part of a paired medical assistance program.
They decided to make one last attempt. After hormone therapy, Parhat Ahmat was able to walk and urinate normally again. He has since been receiving rehabilitation and follow-up anti-tumor treatment at the hospital.
With the tumor currently under control, he's been referred back to Urumqi for preventive brain radiotherapy.
Parhat Ahmat is one of many Turpan patients who have benefited from the paired assistance program over the past 28 years. Since 1998, a total of 535 doctors from Hunan have worked in various medical institutions across Turpan, helping patients receive quality care locally, improving hospital management and upgrading facilities.
Zhao Zemin, a deputy chief physician and acting director of the hospital's oncology and hematology department, says the unit was set up in November 2024. With help from Hunan experts, a standardized diagnosis and treatment system has been built, with a local team now trained and capable of working independently.
He explains that when Parhat Ahmat first discontinued treatment, the patient and his family might not have fully understood the disease. "Hearing the word 'cancer' is frightening enough," Zhao says. "When severe complications are added, it's only human to lose hope. They never imagined that the paralysis — which had left him confined to a wheelchair — could actually be eased."
Parhat Ahmat says he had little confidence when he resumed treatment, but the Hunan experts encouraged him, sharing their experience with similar cases. His family presented the hospital with a banner of gratitude in December.
Zhao says his department has introduced core needle biopsies of the lung, liver, kidney and superficial masses, which enable definitive diagnosis. It has also mastered the placement of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines and both upper arm and chest implantable venous access ports, which facilitate repeated intravenous infusions and make treatment a little easier for patients.
He highlights that the port implantation procedure is among the most advanced techniques and is available at only a few county-level hospitals in Xinjiang. They have also launched standardized care protocols covering cancer pain management, nutritional support, anti-emesis and thrombosis prevention.
Beyond oncology, Hunan doctors have helped establish the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit and nephrology department. Local doctors are also sent to Hunan for training. One such doctor, Emarjan Abdurahman, returned as Turpan's first microsurgeon.
