Six-year-old patient has a laugh

Six-year-old Chinese patient Stephen joyfully inspectsa painting of his favorite character GG Bond done for him by MD Anderson PTC nurse Leo Flores.

Stephen is among the first group of patients taking advantage of the program and getting treatment here, according to Wang Fang, a Houston-based international patient specialist at Concord Medical.

"We help the patient to collect necessary medical documents for the referral. We focus on proton therapy, but we also refer patients to MD Anderson Cancer Center for other types of treatment. So far, we have referred some patients, and the results have been positive," said Wang.

Indeed, Stephen's parents are quite pleased with the results. "Before we came to Houston, Stephen underwent four rounds of chemotherapy in China. He was often listless and dispirited during the therapy."

His parents decided to pursue better treatment overseas. "After weighing different options available also in Japan and Europe, we decided to come here because it's the best in the world," said Stephen's father.

With the referral office's help, the family came to Houston in January. After the initial checkup, the therapy treatments began in Feb and lasted five months.

"We noticed a visible difference," said Stephen's father. "While undergoing therapy here, Stephen experienced little side effects. He ate, played, and slept like a normal child instead of being listless. He was like a normal kid during the five months of therapy."