During her work at a provincial hospital in Tunisia, she performed up to a dozen surgeries in a day as the department of obstetrics and gynecology there is really busy, Guo says.

Local patients trust Chinese doctors, something that makes her proud.

Last July, she noticed a lump in her left breast, which grew larger by October, but she didn't pay much attention. There were too many patients and she was too busy to worry about "small problems", she recalls.

Xiong Qiuyun, a cancer specialist with the Third Hospital of Nanchang and Guo's doctor, says he is sorry that she didn't seek medical treatment earlier.

Guo had surgery soon after the diagnosis, which was successful, but she then asked to leave the hospital before completing a chemotherapy session.

"I thought I could take the chemotherapy drugs with me and have the treatment in Tunisia while working there," Guo says, adding she had bought round-trip tickets when leaving Tunisia.

Xiong has persuaded Guo to keep her plans on hold for the time being.

"In the beginning, I didn't understand her persistence about going back to Tunisia, so I talked to her for more than an hour about her family, her job here and her health condition," says Xiong.

Guo and her husband are both from Xinyu.

"I think she is just like millions of doctors in China, who care about patients and want to do their jobs well. It is only that she cares more intensely," he adds.

According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, since 1963, China has sent about 24,000 medical professionals to 66 countries and regions to help, including 42 countries and regions in Africa, and millions of people abroad have benefited from China's international medical aid program.