Luvz
Junior Addict
Posts: 80
|
Post by Luvz on Oct 16, 2003 18:53:03 GMT -5
Help...the pizza man came to my door right when Sang-min sat down to speak to his doctor. When I returned, SM was in his car, crying. What did the doctor tell him?
|
|
|
Post by JadeEyes on Oct 16, 2003 20:24:17 GMT -5
The doctor told him checking into the hospital for treatment was his only chance...that no matter how bad it was, there's always a hope they could extend his life. But if he does nothing, there won't even be hope. He said best-case-scenario, the treatment might be able to extend his life 5-6 years; w/o it, he has only a few months. SM seemed shaken at how short a time is left to him w/o treatment, but still didn't want to do it.
The doctor said the treatment would be injecting anti-cancer medicines directly in his liver, which is where the cancer is. SM had read about this treatment and said he knew it would be painful and that he would be so weak and debilitated from it, he would be able to do almost nothing for himself. The doctor did not dispute this and said no matter how painful or debilitating, he had to try because it was his only hope at all. SM said there has to be other issues more important than living longer, and said he'd rather concentrate on making the best of what time is left to him and not spend that time being sick and helpless.
Later, the doctor asked him what his family said and SM said he hadn't told his father yet. The doctor did not know SM and MJ are divorced and looked shocked to hear it. He told SM to call him if SM "felt anything" -- not sure what that means, other than possibly he means symptoms, i.e., pain, illness. In the preview he appeared to be stricken w/ severe pain at his desk.
Jade
|
|
Luvz
Junior Addict
Posts: 80
|
Post by Luvz on Oct 16, 2003 21:16:35 GMT -5
Jade, thanks so much for the info. I appreciate it. I have to admit, Sang-min is really getting to me. I know he's alone because of all the foolish and selfish choices he has made that have hurt many people, but watching him break up in his car, at home alone eating, sitting on his bed looking pitiful...I just can't help but feel sorry for him.
|
|
|
Post by bgn1 on Oct 17, 2003 16:13:09 GMT -5
Nope, I'll never feel sorry for that pig!! He's just as unforgiveably selfish as his dad! Okay, I do feel sorry for him having cancer, that's horrible, but when it comes to his loneliness and saddness... haha!! Whenever you feel bad for him, remember the years of heartbreak he inflicted on Jae-young and the despair she went through after being dumped and forced to have an abortion, the lies he told Min-Joo (or rather, the truth he disrespectfully would not reveal to her), and the continued torment of Jae-young and her family, years after their breakup. Throw in the confusion he's so willing to inflict on Ji-Min and there you have it - not a moment of pity for that family wrecker!!
As I said in an earlier post though, I hope WK doesn't end up with parental rights once SM is gone.
|
|
Luvz
Junior Addict
Posts: 80
|
Post by Luvz on Oct 18, 2003 11:01:07 GMT -5
Nope, I'll never feel sorry for that pig!!..... Whenever you feel bad for him, remember the years of heartbreak he inflicted.... Yes, SM has done a lot of hateful things throughout the duration of YH, so your feelings for him are understandable because I was feeling the same way...until recently. For this reason I say, kudos to the writers and the actor who plays SM for taking the most hated character in YH and turning SM into the most pitiful in emotionally moving scenes and superb acting that have touched me and brought tears to my eyes. I give SM credit for not letting his current condition fuel his selfish ways. Instead, he has hit rock bottom and has decided to face it head on, keeping his condition to himself, while focusing his last days on making amends to those around him. Like NOT registering Jimin (to me, SM lost his rights as a father of Jimin the minute he told JY to have an abortion). Not to mention the scenes where he is still conducting business so as not to let his new place of employment down. He’s taking care of both business and personal issues. This shows a lot of strength in his character that he is finally using to put others ahead of himself.
|
|
|
Post by TheBo on Oct 20, 2003 15:30:24 GMT -5
... kudos to the writers and the actor who plays SM for taking the most hated character in YH and turning SM into the most pitiful in emotionally moving scenes and superb acting that have touched me and brought tears to my eyes..... He’s taking care of both business and personal issues. This shows a lot of strength in his character that he is finally using to put others ahead of himself. I think he deserves our pity, too, and the show has earned it. But I must admit to some confusion as to why he refuses the treatment, no matter how painful a gamble it might be. Especially since it means possible years instead of certain months of life. Either way, he's going to go through a lot of pain. And it seems odd that he's so attached to Yuna but would not go through anything that might make it possible to spend a few more years with her. I see M-J stepping into the mix on that one. Bo
|
|
|
Post by JadeEyes on Oct 21, 2003 12:56:03 GMT -5
I think if it was really a question of extending his life by 5-6 years, as the doctor suggested, from a few months w/o treatment, almost anyone would opt to try for it...especially a young person w/ a young child and who has not so far undergone any treatment. I think it's different for much older people who have grown children or no children, and for people at the end of a long, grueling battle of years.
FTR, I don't buy for a second that SM's life could be extended by 5-6 years w/ treatment. Not for someone in late-stage liver cancer. This is a very difficult cancer to fight, and by the time it's in so-called "late stage", it's certainly spread to other major organs that make any attempt to defeat the cancer pretty much hopeless.
But let's say for the sake of the story the doctor friend is right and there is a chance treatment could give SM an extension on life of possibly 5 years. While there are never any guarantees in any kind of medical treatment, there are statistics...and they mostly are a fairly reliable prognisticator of what to expect and hope for realistically. SM should be asking for this data, and the doctor should be able to give it to him. The medical profession does keep a database on this kind of thing and the numbers are not pulled from thin air...they're based on actual patients being treated (or who decline treatment) for the same disease.
The doctor should be able to tell SM "X percent of patients w/ cancer at the same stage as yours who opt for treatment, are alive after 6 months...X percent are alive after 1 year....X percent are alive at 5 years. X percent relapse (have recurrence of cancer). X percent who opt against treatment are still alive at X months." And in place of the X, the appropriate number would be given. W/ information like that, a patient can make an informed decision on what course is best for him or her.
I don't think any of us could say right now what we'd do in the same situation, confronted with the reality of the disease and our chances for any sort of meaningful extension of life. I had a friend whose brother was diagnosed w/ Stage 4 bladder cancer (meaning the cancer had invaded the bladder wall, making the prognosis considerably more grave) a few years ago. He underwent surgery to remove the bladder and have a new bladder constructed out of a portion of the intestine. He was then referred to an oncologist for follow-up treatment, considered mandatory for any hope of good outcome. The man dreaded the thought of chemo and radiation therapy. He told his surgeon he "felt fine" after recovering from the surgery and "considered himself cured". The surgeon warned him ardently that w/o follow-up treatment, 90% will suffer recurrence of cancer within 1 year. But he also said that 80% who go through follow-up treatment will suffer relapse too. I gues my friend's brother felt that for only a10% increase in odds, it wasn't worth it putting himself through the suffering and debilitation of the follow-up treatment. He had a good few months, but became deathly ill just before Christmas. He was admitted to the hospital, where it was revealed the cancer had spread to other organs. In a panic at the immediacy of death staring him in the face, he agreed to try the chemo, etc., but w/ odds much worse by then than those he balked at months earlier. He survived only a few months longer, and his dying and eventual death was quite inhuman.
Even when one makes an "informed" decision, it could be one he or she later regrets. It probably is a lot "easier" to play the stoic who faces death unflinchingly, or seemingly so, before the suffering of the disease has kicked in full force. Right now, SM is still feeling relatively well...just some fatigue, bad effects from drinking and no pain until just a day or so ago. I can imagine it seems to him a no-brainer on trading that in for certain illness, suffering and loss of independence starting immediately. But when the disease gets him to that point eventually anyway, it's very possible he'll change his mind and figure it's worth fighting.
Jade
|
|