Zhang Xueliang's first wife, Yu Fengzhi, did have breast cancer and was diagnosed in the spring of 1940. For people in the 1940s, suffering from breast cancer was equivalent to being sentenced to death. At that time, Zhang Xueliang and his wife turned to Song Meiling for help. Under the coordination of Song Meiling, Yu Fengzhi took her maid and an adjutant of Zhang Xueliang from Shanghai to the United States for medical treatment.

Yu Fengzhi's arranged hospital is harkness Christian Hospital of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Research Center in the suburb of New York.

In this famous church hospital, Winston Bill, a famous oncologist, was in charge of treating Yu Fengzhi. After X-ray examination confirmed the exact location of the left breast lesion, Bill decided to take conservative treatment so that Yu Fengzhi could still keep his original figure after operation. In the past year, Dr. Bill has performed three difficult tumor resection operations for Yu Fengzhi, and successfully removed three pebbles-sized tumors in the left breast. Although three operations are too troublesome, they can reduce the wounds outside the breast.

However, due to the metastasis of cancer cells, a year later, Bill had to propose a treatment plan to remove the whole left breast. Yu Fengzhi stubbornly deadlocked for several months at first to save his left chest. Later, under the strong persuasion of Mr. and Mrs. Zhan Sen Kennedy, Yu Fengzhi finally compromised and agreed to Dr. Bill's suggestion of removing the left chest.

Postoperative chemotherapy is slow and painful. During chemotherapy, Yu Fengzhi almost lost all his hair, and he became more haggard and weak. He is always skinny and weighs less than 45 kilograms. Fortunately, his life was finally saved.