Nghe An Oncology Hospital: 15 years - a journey - Part 1: Growing up from hardship
The establishment of Nghe An Oncology Hospital is an important step forward, meeting the urgent need for cancer treatment in the province. Despite facing countless difficulties, the first people to build the hospital did not back down. They bravely made efforts and devoted themselves to treating cancer patients; making an important contribution to the development of Nghe An's health sector in the early 21st century.
Diep Phuong• January 14, 2025
The establishment of Nghe An Oncology Hospital is an important step forward, meeting the urgent need in medical examination and treatment.and cancer treatment in the provincehome. Despite facing countless difficulties, the first people to build the hospital did not back down. Theydedicated, devoted himself to treating cancer patients; contributed significantly to the development of Nghe An's healthcare sector in the early 21st century.
Going back in time to the early years of the 21st century, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung said that cancer was still a somewhat "mysterious" disease in the minds of Vietnamese people in general and Nghe An in particular. Especially in rural areas, most people did not know much about this disease, apart from simple information such as "cancer is an incurable disease" or "cancer is often only detected when it is too late". Therefore, when mentioning cancer, many people tend to worry, fear and consider it a "death sentence" because they do not know what to do to prevent and treat the disease.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, in 2000, there were 68,810 cancer cases in Vietnam and up to 126,307 cases in 2010. In Nghe An, in 2009, there were 5,592 cases of all types of cancer. In the context of being a poor province, with a large population and the largest natural area in the country. From Vinh City to the farthest districts of the province such as Ky Son is nearly 300 km, Que Phong is more than 250 km... When people go to medical facilities for examination and are diagnosed with cancer, they must be transferred to K Hospital or the Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Center, Bach Mai Hospital for treatment.
At that time, most cancer patients had a very short life expectancy (from 6 months to 1 year) due to late detection, the disease had metastasized, making treatment extremely difficult; along with that, the problem of long distance travel and expensive treatment costs led to many poor patients giving up treatment and sadly leaving this world.
Faced with that situation, on August 27, 2010, with the approval of the Government, the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 3826/QD-UBND to establish Nghe An Oncology Hospital with 5 staff members, of which Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung was assigned to the position of Hospital Director, Dr. Dau Huy Hoan (now Director of Nghe An Lung Hospital) held the position of Deputy Director, along with 3 administrative staff.
“During the renovation and repair process to put the hospital into operation, every day there were patients’ relatives coming to ask about the opening hours so they could bring their relatives home for treatment. Those expectations, like a hope that could not come true, made us more determined. Although there were only five people, we were determined to take advantage of every moment, working day and night to supervise the contractors, repairing each item, from the garden to the patient rooms to complete as quickly as possible. Also during this time, the hospital sent letters calling for medical staff from all over the province to work at the hospital. After nearly a year, the hospital gathered 38 more doctors and technicians,” Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung recalled.
On August 8, 2011, the hospital officially started medical examination and treatment with a scale of 50 beds, 50 staff, organized into 5 departments and 1 team; the physical facilities consisted of only 2 rows of level 4 houses with corrugated iron roofs.
One of the typical doctors who applied to return that day was Dr. Pham Vinh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Oncology Hospital. While serving as Deputy Head of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Nghe An General Hospital, which was famous and promising, he voluntarily wrote an application to work at Nghe An Oncology Hospital - with a new specialty, newly established with many challenges, and an unclear future.
Sharing this bold reason, Dr. Hung confided: “To treat cancer, the first thing to do is to diagnose the disease; early detection of cancer plays a decisive role in the treatment outcome, the earlier the diagnosis, the more effective the treatment. Meanwhile, this deadly disease, if treated for a long time, can cause even rich people to fall into poverty, and physical pain and mental trauma will always weigh heavily on the patient's mind. Therefore, I hope to use my knowledge and experience to diagnose the disease accurately and promptly with my colleagues, bringing the best treatment opportunities to patients, contributing to the development of the oncology profession in Nghe An.”
Dr. Hung said that in the early days of working at the hospital, everything had to start from zero. He had to bring his personal printer and ultrasound machine to the hospital to work. Despite the lack of equipment, there were still many patients, not enough beds, many people had to lie in the hallway; there were times when they had to lie in the yard.
“When there was no more room in the hallway, patients had to put their beds under the royal poinciana tree (now the medical records storage area). Every time the sunlight shone down, the beds had to be turned to follow the shade. Or when sudden rains came, medical staff, patients, and patients’ relatives would rush to carry the beds and find shelter. Those were moments that were both funny and difficult, but also full of affection. At that moment, human affection, camaraderie, and love for the profession were clearly defined and we called it the “hospital garden” - Dr. Hung shared more.
According to Dr. Hung, before the decision to transfer to Nghe An Oncology Hospital, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung was holding the position of Deputy Director and Dr. Dau Huy Hoan was holding the position of Deputy Head of the Department of General Surgery at Nghe An General Hospital. These were the two most famous surgeons in Nghe An province at that time and were also the ones who laid the first bricks to build Nghe An Oncology Hospital.
The doctors and technicians who volunteered at the hospital at that time always kept in mind that dedication is giving without calculation. It is not only about sacrificing time and effort but also about dedication, love for the profession and the spirit of constantly striving for the community.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung - Director of Nghe An Oncology Hospital said that the hospital campus in the early days of its establishment was a picture of hardship, renovated from two old buildings of Nghe An General Friendship Hospital, built in 1985, which had seriously degraded. Due to the lack of an operating room, the hospital had to use the patient treatment room as a partition, reinforced to make it an operating room. Even medical equipment was borrowed from other facilities.
“The operating table, scalpel, and operating lamp were borrowed from the Eastern European Hospital; the surgical cloth, instruments, and sterilization pot were borrowed from the Preventive Medicine Center. Because the pot’s capacity and volume were too small, it had to be sterilized four times to be enough for a major surgery, so the team of technicians had to wake up very early to prepare the tools. The testing machine was also sponsored by brands to serve the patients. The entire hospital had only one operating room, with about 5-7 surgeries every day lasting all night long.
One summer day, the temperature rose to 39, 40 degrees Celsius, when Dr. Hoan and I were in the middle of the surgery, the power suddenly went out. In order to continue, I had to run to Dr. Hoan's house, a short distance from the hospital, to borrow a 3kw backup generator. It was only enough to provide electricity for the anesthesia machine, surgical lights and a small fan" - Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung recalled.
Despite the lack of facilities, the surgical team was not discouraged. Each operation was performed more carefully and meticulously than ever, as if every movement of the doctor carried a precious life within. Throughout the process, under the stuffy, tense atmosphere of the closed room, drops of sweat appeared on their faces, but their determination helped them overcome everything. The surgery was successful and it was a worthy result for the dedicated, highly skilled "white-blouse warriors".
Doctor Trung said, “fire tests gold, hardship tests strength”, it is in the most difficult and deprived times that people reveal their strength. And perhaps, when standing on the line between life and death, people truly understand the importance of health. On the contrary, for doctors, it is in that moment that they feel most clearly the noble mission of the profession. It is not only a job, but also a responsibility towards each patient.
The reward for those efforts was the absolute trust of the patients. When there were only 50 planned beds, the hospital still had to receive and treat hundreds of inpatients. The need for cancer treatment was huge at that time, even though they were temporarily housed under trees or in garages; on rainy and flood days, the water was everywhere, and patients sat huddled on their beds. In their anxious eyes, there was also faith and hope in the medical team.
Faced with numerous challenges in infrastructure and medical equipment, the hospital staff, headed by Director Nguyen Quang Trung, has made constant efforts to build and develop. By the end of 2012, the 3-storey Technical Building had begun construction with a total floor area of 2,274 m².
Along with that, the hospital has organized bidding, purchased essential medical machinery and equipment, serving the needs of treatment, as well as installed modern specialized equipment in the Technical and Professional area. Important items such as: medical gas system, sterile operating room, bone marrow transplant system, pathology lab have been fully equipped, creating a solid foundation for treatment.
By April 2013, the Technical House was completed and put into use, marking an important step in the development of Nghe An Oncology Hospital. From here, the hospital has had full departments of Examination, Pathology, Testing, Infection Control, Diagnostic Imaging - Functional Exploration, Anesthesia Surgery, Bone Marrow Transplantation Area and Surgery Department; meeting the increasing demand for cancer treatment of Nghe An people and neighboring provinces.
.jpg "Bệnh viện Ung bướu Nghệ An đạt cấp chuyên sâu về chuyên môn kỹ thuật")
