馬偕院長 罹癌給人第二次機會 Mackay Memorial Hospital’s director gives a speech, “with cancer, gives a second chance to people”

An inspiration story.

「若以癌症離世，是一種恩賜。」馬偕醫院院長楊育正昨天在「在我離去之前」新書發表會上指出，癌症不是詛咒，是給人第二次機會，去完成人生未能完成的事，去說出尚未說出口的話，讓人生不留遺憾。 

楊育正前年剛擔任院長不久，接到自己的病理切片報告，原來困擾他兩個多月的三叉神經疼痛，是罹患了淋巴瘤，瞬間宣告他由一名治療癌症醫師，成為掙扎於死亡邊緣的癌症病人。

「為什麼是我？」楊育正說，每個人知道自己罹癌，都有相同的哀傷反應，他也不例外。為了對抗六公分大的淋巴瘤，他採用強度最高的14天高劑量化療療程，卻也讓他最驕傲、年過五十仍茂密的「秀髮」，開始一把一把地掉落。 

楊育正某天下班後，直接到醫院地下室理髮廳，掏出台幣100元，請老闆娘將他剩餘的頭髮理光，再請太太陪他去買假髮。他說，「我這才知道，假髮最大的市場之一就是癌症患者。」但癌症難纏，在六次化療、八次標靶治療與四次髓鞘內化療期間，楊育正兩度受到併發敗血症侵襲，和死神擦身而過；他也因為化療的身心折磨，情緒悲傷，偶爾半夜會突然一身冷汗驚醒，讓他必須服用抗憂鬱劑。

「這不是一本書，It’s the beating of my heart（這是我的心跳）。」楊育正說，若以不同角度看癌症，其實癌症提供了一段時間，讓人思考人生還有哪些沒說出口的話、沒有交代的事，可以及時彌補。

楊育正也公開寫給太太林佩親的情詩：「如果有一天我不再醒來，請不要哭泣。」林佩親昨天到場為先生打氣，還大聲告白，「我非常喜歡他」，夫妻感性擁抱，讓人動容。

"Die from cancer, is a gift." says the Mackay Memorial Hospital’s director, Yang Yuzhong at his new book publishing interview, "Before I an gone," cancer is not a curse, is to give people a second chance, to complete the incomplete, to say yet unspoken words, live a life without regret. 

Yang Yuzhong, two years ago just take the job as the director of Mackay Memorial Hospital, shortly after that he received his pathology report, originally bothered him more than two months’ trigeminal neuralgia, is actually lymphoma, all of the sudden, from a cancer physician, declared as a cancer patient, struggle to the brink of death.

"Why is me?" Yang Yuzhong says, the same reaction, anyone when is told has cancer, he is no exception. To fight his six centimeters lymphoma, he is treated with the highest dose chemotherapy for 14 days, lead him to lose his most proud of, over fifty years old, still has thick "hair", begin to fall off largely. 

One day after work, Yang Yuzhong directly goes to the hospital’s barber shop at the basement, take out NT $ 100, and ask the lady barber to shave the rest of his hair bald, then ask his wife to accompany with him to buy a wig. He says, "That’s when I realize that one of the biggest markets of the wigs is for cancer patients." Cancer’s tough, during six chemotherapy, eight target therapy and four myelin chemotherapy, Yang Yuzhong experiences twice side effects, invasion sepsis, and almost die; also because the physical and mental tortures from chemotherapy, put him into deep sorrow, occasionally sudden wake up and sweating at night, force him to take antidepressants for it. 

"This is not a book, it’s the beating of my heart (It's the beating of my heart)." Yang Yuzhong says, from different point of view, cancers, in fact, provide a period of time, let people re-think about life, to complete the incomplete, to say yet unspoken words, recuperate before it's too late. 

The love poem that Yang writes to his wife, Mrs. Pei: "Please do not cry, when I am gone!" Mr. Pei confession proudly , "I am very fond of him," they embrace each other warmly, people are greatly touched by them.