My name is 明進, from Taiwan. I’m a father of three, and I survived stage 3 lung cancer, which was caught after I noticed chest pains while breathing. I had lost my mother to cancer.

I had chest pains while breathing, and that led to my diagnosis. After that, I changed to a larger hospital to consult a more experienced doctor for a second opinion. My friend referred me to a hospital he knows.

I ate a healthier diet most days a week.

According to my doctor’s recommendation and financial reasons, I did

• Chemotherapy
• Radiotherapy
• Targeted therapy

My tumor is too large to be safely removed through surgery. When I decided on it, I felt a bit more relieved, motivated and hopeful.

Currently, I’m in remission, but I’m still taking chemotherapy.

In terms of side effects, the ones that affected me the most were: weight fluctuations and peripheral neuropathy, causing difficulty controlling my right arm and right leg.

To manage them, I relied on more exercise and eating better.

I tried my best to commit to eating healthier every day and exercising at least 50% more than I used to. While my relationships with my family stayed mostly the same, we had to stop going on our usual annual family trip.

I hope my family can live a normal life. For me, I plan to try hard to survive. I aspire to beat cancer, or live with it.

I live by fearless thinking. I have an optimistic attitude, and have full confidence in the treatment. Relax and have no fear.

I feel confident, courageous, hopeful and thankful. I want to face my challenges bravely.

To others, I would say: “Adjust your mindset, accept treatment with confidence, look back on and review your past, get rid of bad habits, and live a normal life. Pay attention to your diet to avoid losing weight. Think positive, and maintain an optimistic attitude, and maintain your confidence in yourself. These are the best tools to defeat the disease.”