No one expected that this woman, who had nearly her entire stomach removed, would not only survive but also appear before the camera again in 2024 with a new Golden Rooster Award nomination. Twenty-five years have passed, and the cancer cells have never returned. Smiling, she said: “Cancer didn’t take my life—it taught me how to live.”

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From eating hot steamed buns with cold water at construction sites to her first Golden Rooster Award

In 2002, a doctor told Yue Hong, a Chinese film star who had just turned 40, “You have stomach cancer and need to have four-fifths of your stomach removed.” At the time, Yue Hong was still holding the script for Mischievous Princess, and her daughter was only 12 years old. In the moment before anesthesia, she had only one thought: “I must live to see my daughter grow up.”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years: the secret is doing three things every day – Image 1.

Born in 1962 into an ordinary working-class family in Chengdu, Yue Hong hauled sand and bricks at construction sites at the age of 15. Squatting outside workers’ sheds, covered in dust, she memorized her lines while eating cold rice. After failing the entrance exam to an arts school twice, she tried again for the third time in 1980 and was finally admitted to the Central Academy of Drama.

In 1985, her portrayal of the strong rural woman Gui Lan in the film Huangshan won her the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress. Standing on the awards stage, the bright lights made her eyes sting, bringing back memories of herself gulping down hot steamed buns with cold water at construction sites. After that, she worked nonstop in the film industry, often surviving on biscuits and instant noodles. Whenever she had stomach pain, she would simply “swallow” a handful of stomach medicine and tell herself, “It will get better after this busy period.”

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Entering the operating room alone, whispering her daughter’s nickname before anesthesia

An unexpected turn came in May 2002. While filming a night scene, Yue Hong suddenly collapsed and vomited blood. An endoscopy revealed a bleeding ulcer-like tumor in the antrum of her stomach. Pointing at the scan, the doctor sighed, “The tumor is in a bad position—we have to remove four-fifths of the stomach.”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 2.

The night before surgery, Yue Hong did something that infuriated the doctors. She asked a friend to buy her a pot of spicy steamed fish. The chili made her eyes water, yet she ate bite by bite. “If I don’t eat now, I may never get another chance,” she explained to the doctor who tried to stop her, her voice trembling. It was her “farewell ceremony” to a life full of bitterness.

On the morning of April 2, 2002, without telling her father or daughter, she went into the operating room alone. As the anesthetic flowed into her veins, she murmured her daughter’s nickname. After hours of surgery, less than one-fifth of her original stomach remained. When she woke up, the first sensation was a burning pain like knives stabbing—digestive fluids refluxing and irritating the surgical junctions, her hospital gown soaked with sweat.

On the tenth day after surgery, the doctor brought good news: the cancer had not metastasized, and no chemotherapy or radiotherapy was needed. Yue Hong clutched the bedsheets and sobbed. A family member of the patient in the next bed peeked over and saw the frail woman repeatedly saying, “I’ll be able to see my daughter grow up.”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 3.

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Three unbreakable rules

Her first meal after discharge—just two spoonfuls of chicken soup—made her grimace in pain. She suddenly realized that her newly reconstructed stomach needed a completely new survival protocol. From then on, she set herself an unbreakable rule: even if she had only ten minutes to eat, she would chew every bite at least thirty times before swallowing.

On set, while others squatted by the roadside eating boxed meals, she would hold a small bowl of plain porridge with steamed pumpkin, eating spoonful by spoonful with reverence. A young actor joked, “Ms. Yue eats like she’s counting grains of rice.” She smiled and pointed to her stomach: “Now it’s a precision instrument—it can’t handle rough materials anymore.”

And so Yue Hong established three unbreakable rules.

First, the “ten-minute eating method”: spend the first five minutes focusing on chewing, and the next five minutes listening to signals from the stomach. Twenty-five years later, those who once laughed at her now ask her for health advice. Opening her thermos of yam porridge, she says, “Your stomach knows when it’s full—but you never listen.”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 4.

Second, every morning at five o’clock, while the city is still asleep, Yue Hong lies flat on her bed and performs a mysterious ritual. Using both palms, she gently massages her abdomen in clockwise circles 36 times. This habit began on the third day after surgery, when doctors warned her that her greatest risk was intestinal adhesions.

Third, she drinks only warm water at 40°C. She once tried cold water to quench her thirst, only to end up with stomach pain—an unforgettable lesson. Now her thermos has become her signature prop, to the point that crew members joke, “Ms. Yue’s thermos is more important than her script.”

Once, during a rain scene that started filming at 3 a.m., she still got up half an hour earlier than everyone else. A production assistant, yawning as he bumped into her sitting on a folding chair doing deep breathing, couldn’t help asking, “Why sacrifice half an hour of sleep?” She blinked and replied, “It’s a warm-up for the body—I can’t skip it.”

At a follow-up appointment, the doctor looked at her report and exclaimed, “Your indicators are better than many healthy people’s!”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 5.

In the early days of recovery, she had to gasp for breath three times just to reach the gate of her residential compound. Gradually, she was able to walk around the park, and now she walks for half an hour every morning. She dislikes weight machines at the gym and prefers slow walks outdoors instead: “The rustling leaves, birds flying overhead—and my stomach seems to hum along with the rhythm.”

One winter, while filming, she wrapped herself in a down jacket and spun around on set in subzero temperatures. The director called her inside to warm up, but she stomped her feet and said, “Let my stomach wake up—the eating scene will feel more real.” The result: the scene was completed in one take. Holding the prop bowl and eating porridge, her stomach felt comfortable, as if it had already rehearsed.

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The secret to defeating cancer

“What’s your secret to beating cancer?” Whenever asked, Yue Hong points to her temple and says, “I won the battle here first.” In the early days after diagnosis, she cried all night—until she saw her swollen face in the mirror and suddenly woke up to the fact that fear spreads faster than cancer cells.

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 6.

She invented the “Happy Stomach Exercise”: every day, shout “I am happy, I am healthy” three times in front of the mirror. At first she felt silly, but later her stomach pain truly eased. The scientific explanation is that positive emotions promote the release of endorphins, but she waves it off: “It’s just that the stomach likes hearing nice things.”

Before every gastroscopy, the nurse would be so nervous her hands trembled. Yue Hong would reassure her, “I’ve been through this for years—I get checked annually.” After the exam, the doctor would study the images and murmur, “Your gastric mucosa is even smoother than last year.” She would reply proudly, “Of course—I take care of it every day.”

On Yue Hong’s calendar, there is a red circle every year—the day of her gastroscopy. No matter how busy she is filming, she takes that day off. Some younger colleagues find it hard to understand: “It’s been over twenty years without recurrence—can’t you stop checking?” She pats her stomach and says, “There’s an old tenant living here. I have to inspect the building structure regularly.”

In 2004, an ultrasound once suggested possible liver metastasis, sending her whole family into panic. Calmly, she went to another hospital for a second opinion—it turned out to be a false alarm. Since then, she has valued follow-up exams even more: “It’s like annual car maintenance—you check before the warning light comes on.”

Yue Hong, a Chinese actress who has defeated stomach cancer for 25 years – Image 7.

Now, every year when her health check results come out, doctors are astonished to find her indicators comparable to those of a young person. She takes out a yellowed diagnostic report from 2002, its edges frayed: “I signed a ceasefire agreement with it. The condition was that I wouldn’t cause trouble—and it wouldn’t cause any either.”

When the whole crew eats together, young people devour grilled skewers and cold beer, while she sips longan-and-red-date tea. Someone offers her a skewer: “Ms. Yue, can’t you make an exception?” She waves her hand with a smile: “My stomach is a protected historical site.” In the darkness, her thermos glows warmly—like a steadfast companion that has stood by her side for twenty-five years.