Lin Hui-yi, a food critic well-known to the Chinese community in Southern California, was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right breast this past May. After undergoing 28 rounds of radiation therapy in Taiwan, she has now recovered. She believes that while cancer is not something to be feared, it does not simply vanish; the best approach is to coexist with it while adhering to a daily “three-good” regimen.
Those who know Lin Hui-yi are familiar with her cheerful personality, yet she went through a period of deep sorrow following her mother’s passing. Encouraged by her doctor, she eventually began trying to move past her grief and scheduled a health check-up. Although she had always considered herself healthy, she never imagined that cancer would one day affect her.
She noted that, as a woman, the mammogram was one of the medical exams she least wanted to undergo. Because Asian women tend to have denser breast tissue, the procedure requires significant compression to obtain clear images, which she found very uncomfortable. She later opted for a newer 3D mammography service at a medical facility, finding the experience far less unpleasant. She initially thought the exam had gone smoothly, but a week later, the facility informed her that she needed a breast ultrasound, followed by a biopsy. Since the issue involved two locations in her right breast, the physician marked the sites during the biopsy to facilitate future surgery or imaging. After a period of waiting, she received the confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer and learned that surgery would be required.
Lin Hui-yi received the news around Mother’s Day while staying at her daughter’s home. Upon learning of the positive result and the need for surgery, her daughter burst into tears, and the entire family was deeply shaken. Her immediate thought was to schedule an appointment with a specialist, but her insurance network included only about a hundred doctors who treated breast cancer, and the earliest available appointment was more than a month away.
Lin Hui-yi had already planned a trip to Taiwan. Considering the quality of medical resources there—and the fact that her older brother, a director in the Intensive Care Unit at Veterans General Hospital, could assist with her care—she ultimately decided to return to Taiwan for treatment. She underwent surgery there, recuperated for a month, and then began a course of 28 radiation therapy sessions. She noted that the initial ten radiation sessions caused no significant discomfort, but physical reactions intensified during the second set of ten. Post-treatment skin irritation was severe—involving broken skin and discoloration—causing her great distress. Her breast swelled during the course of treatment; to reassure her daughter, she joked that it was like getting a breast augmentation, though her daughter quipped back asking if the sizes would end up uneven. Although the initial physician had suggested that 15 sessions might suffice, another recommended 28, and she ultimately completed the full course as prescribed. As the treatment involved five sessions a week followed by a two-day break, the entire regimen required her to stay in Taiwan for an extended period.