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My Experience Getting Cancer Screening In China — Unexpectedly Smooth, But Slightly Beyond What I Expected
Last year, I was staying in Asia for work and ended up doing a fairly comprehensive medical check-up. After that, I was advised to do further cancer-related examinations. I wanted to share my experience at a hospital in China called Royallee Oncology Hospital.
At that time, I was in Southeast Asia. I had no obvious symptoms, but some blood test markers were abnormal. In France, the appointment system would have taken too long, so a friend suggested I look for a faster specialist hospital somewhere in Asia for further checks.
Later, I learned about this hospital through a platform (called DengYueMed, I had never heard of it before, but it was forwarded to me by a friend). They mentioned that the hospital specializes in oncology and has experience with international patients.
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first.
It sounded like a private international hospital, but once I arrived, I realized the scale was much larger than I expected. The workflow was also quite standardized—not chaotic or disorganized.
There was an international patient reception area with English support, which helped me a lot since my Chinese is very basic.
On the first day, it was mainly registration + triage, and I was quickly scheduled for imaging tests (CT + MRI). The speed was much faster than the appointment system I experienced in France, I have to admit that.
The attending doctor could communicate in English (not perfect, but sufficient), and the nurses mostly used simple English with translation assistance. There was also a dedicated medical coordinator following the whole process.
In the end, the results showed a benign nodule, and no immediate treatment was needed.
That really relieved me.
The doctor recommended follow-ups every 3–6 months and provided a bilingual report, which made it much easier for me to continue follow-up care back in France.
Some honest impressions
Pros:
Very efficient (appointments and diagnostics were fast)
Relatively mature process for international patients
Lower cost than I expected (covered by private insurance)
Things I wasn’t fully used to:
Some explanations of tests were quite simplified, I had to ask follow-up questions
Not all staff were fluent in English
If someone asks me whether it’s worth doing similar checks in China, my answer would be:
It depends on whether you need a faster diagnostic pathway, and whether you are comfortable with a different style of medical communication.