These days, a story from the US titled “I’m Not a Hero” has sparked heated discussions among Chinese and American netizens.
Differently, the American man in the story was searching across the Pacific for Indian generic drugs, not for a Chinese pharmaceutical company-developed innovative anti-cancer drug that has already been launched in China—Shuowuatinib.
According to US media reports, since this drug had not been launched in the United States at that time, Max Doppelt, a computer engineer from New York, traveled specifically to China to purchase this domestically developed Chinese drug in order to treat his mother, who suffered from lung cancer with brain metastasis. His mother was nearly condemned to death by American doctors, but her condition was brought under control after receiving the medication in time.
On October 23, Doppert expressed his gratitude in an interview with The South China Morning Post: “I am very grateful for all the research and development work done by Chinese companies; it saved my mother’s life.”
"When I was in China, I truly felt the strong connection between two completely different and very unfamiliar places," he said. "We are all human beings, health transcends everything. There is no political bias or position on health issues."
Multiple Perters and Mother
The Washington Post first reported on Doppert’s journey to China in search of medicine this Tuesday.
It all started at the end of 2023. Debbie, Dapelt’s mother, who was in her 60s and a jeweler who never smoked, was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer caused by a specific genetic mutation. After undergoing a series of standard treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery, by the end of 2024, the cancer cells developed severe brain metastases.
Dabby was diagnosed with a total of 10 tumors in her brain. The targeted drugs available at that time either had significant side effects or were ineffective against cancer cells that had already penetrated the brain tissue. The medical system in New York City was unable to do anything. She also did not meet the criteria for participating in relevant clinical trials, and her life was on a countdown.
Seeing his increasingly weak mother, Dopfert fell into despair.
He told The South China Morning Post that the turning point came at a conference on lung cancer. A doctor told him that there is a new drug called sunitinib available for this rare mutation in clinical practice. However, this drug is still in the final stage of clinical trials in the United States and has not yet been approved for marketing.
The doctor continued that if his mother “accidentally lived in China, she would be able to receive this medication,” as China had approved the drug for use in 2023. It is worth mentioning that after the implementation of the new medical insurance drug list in 2025, sunitinib was included in the medical insurance coverage, significantly reducing the cost of medication for Chinese patients.
"It's a pity that your mother isn't Chinese; otherwise, she could have bought medicine directly from a pharmacy in China."
The doctor's casual remark was overheard by Doppert. "My first thought was, why don't we go to China?"
In order to seize this last chance of survival, within a few hours, the mother and child immediately contacted relatives and friends. Eventually, they managed to get some sunitinib from a contact living in China, and their condition significantly improved.
At that time, seeing that the trade disputes provoked by the United States were making Sino-US relations more tense, Doppert became increasingly worried: “Will my mother still be able to get this medicine in six months?”
So, a few months later, Doppert flew to Shanghai himself and spent over $10,000 to purchase 26 boxes of this targeted medication from China.
