Cancer rates on the rise

Li cites an example of a new tough case. A man in 40s from Hebei province was treated as a pneumonia patient over the past two years at a top hospital in Beijing, for

reoccurring chest pain and low fever. He was finally diagnosed with lung cancer in the same hospital in late March, but was then discharged because the doctor considered it was too late to treat the cancer.

"Misdiagnosis happens a lot, because one cancer case differs from another, and it relies heavily on the doctor's experience and imaging technology to make an accurate judgment," Li says.

Nie Haiying, 59, a resident in a village in Yanqing county, Beijing, knows well how hospitals' treatment capacity can differ, especially between rural and urban facilities.

In late January, Nie coughed blood and fainted. He was rushed to a local county - level hospital and had a CT scan.

The doctor said the result showed there was something unusual with his lungs and kidneys, but he could not tell what it was.

Nie then went to an emergency department in a big hospital in the city.

"As soon as I showed the doctor the X-rays, she concluded I had tumors," Nie recalls.

Later, he was confirmed to have cancer tissues in his right lung and a kidney. In March, Nie underwent a lung cancer operation in Li's hospital. The operation was successful, and Nie feels much better now.

But not everyone is as lucky.