Families demand refunds for cancer treatment

The parents of Wei Zexi, a computer science major at Xidian University in Shaanxi province who died of a rare form of cancer, wait outside a funeral home in Xianyang, Shaanxi, on April 13.[Wan Jia/For China Daily]

A man who revealed that one of his relatives was receiving the therapy at the facility, said on Tuesday,"The hospital promised us that the treatment is effective and we have spent a lot of money. After the media reports, we are very worried and demand an explanation from the hospital."

The man, who is from Beijing and requested that his name not be used, said he talked with a vice-president of the hospital on Tuesday, and learned that the hospital is investigating the case and will give the families an explanation and a response on Friday about whether it will provide are fund.

The man said about 20 people related to current or former immunotherapy patients at the hospital are joining a group seeking a response, a refund and compensation from the hospital for expenses they incurred during treatment, such as hotel costs.

He said they are waiting for the hospital's answer about whether the immunotherapy is illegal and whether the department offering the service had been contracted.

Meanwhile, in an internal statement issued by Baiduon Tuesday, the company said it would improve its background check and evaluation system to screen out any improper information.

"Baidu stands together with the people and won't compromise its integrity for economic profit,"it said.

A 63-year-old woman, who only gave her surname of Lu, said she is also demanding a refund of about 30,000 yuan for the therapy that her late husband, who suffered from liver cancer, had received at the hospital in December 2014.

"I read from a newspaper that the immunotherapy in the hospital is very advanced,"she said."We trusted in military hospitals and did not have doubt."

Lu said her husband's condition worsened after the therapy, which lasted for less than a day.

Her husband was transferred to a private hospital for treatment, but he died in March last year, she said.

A man surnamed Zhao from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region said his wife, about 50 years old, had received the immunotherapy treatment in question at the hospital in the past few days for nasopharyngeal cancer and stopped the treatment after the media reports.

He added that they are awaiting the hospital's response on a refund.

Zhao said his wife had therapy in June last year, and the result was satisfactory, but the same therapy this year did not produce results.

Although the two therapies were the same, the price for the therapy last year was about 67,000 yuan, while the second round of therapy cost 37,000 yuan, he said.

The couple has spent nearly 150,000 yuan for the treatment, taking into account other expenses such as trip costs and renting hotel rooms, he said.

"We are very worried,"he said."As farmers, we borrowed almost all the money from others for the treatment, and we never expected it might be useless."