The irony of a cancer family: An old mother mourns her child while waiting to die.

(Baonghean.vn) - In a 30 square meter apartment building, Ms. Hieu tearfully recounted her difficult life as she witnessed family members die of cancer, a disease she is also fighting every day.

In the apartment building on the third floor of C6, block 8, Quang Trung ward, Vinh city, there are no valuable items. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hieu, 78 years old, said: "The cancer tortured me so much that I could only lie in bed. Today, I took medicine and was able to walk again."

Ms. Hieu in the Quang Trung dormitory room in Vinh City. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Originally from Thai Binh, in 1958, she went to Nghe An to work as a worker at the 19/5 Rubber Plantation in Nghia Dan. Here, she married Mr. Nguyen Quang Thang and had 2 children. Ms. Hiu said: "During my time working as a worker at the farm, I rarely got sick. When I got old, I was diagnosed with cancer. On top of that, my husband (Mr. Thang) was bedridden."

The mother's haggard face had to send her husband and children off to the eternal world one by one. Photo: Thanh Cuong

More painfully, in 2014, her family heard that her eldest son, Nguyen Quang Thanh, who was serving in the army, had nasopharyngeal cancer and had to be treated in Hanoi. Shocked and heartbroken, she could only pray to God and Buddha every day, hoping that her son's condition would improve, hoping that a miracle would happen to her family.

However, it seemed that her pleas did not reach the heavens. After 2 years of bedridden, in September 2015, Mr. Thang passed away, leaving her alone in the old dormitory room. While she was still mourning her husband, the old mother had to mourn her eldest son once again. In June 2016, Mr. Thanh passed away, leaving behind his old mother, wife and children after 2 years of fighting nasopharyngeal cancer.

Mrs. Hieu now lives on the support and help of neighbors and relatives. Photo: Thanh Cuong

At that time, Mrs. Hieu had no one to turn to but her daughter, Nguyen Thi Kim, who was a kindergarten teacher. However, after Kim finished arranging her brother’s funeral, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Mrs. Hieu looked at the altar, “From the time she found out until the time he closed his eyes, it was only 6 months. It’s been 2 months since he passed away.”

After a series of incidents, now only Mrs. Hieu is left to survive in the old apartment building. Wiping away her tears, Mrs. Hieu said that her last savings were spent on medicine and painkillers. Since Tet, she has been living on the support and care of neighbors and relatives. Some give her a little rice, some give her a bowl of rice, some donate a little money for medicine.

Mrs. Hieu confided, “Now I live each day as I can to honor my husband and my two children. My only regret is that I cannot see my children one last time due to my illness, and cannot take them part of the way.”

Chu Thanh - Thanh Cuong