A cry for help from a young widow with terminal cancer

Having just returned from Nghe An Oncology Hospital after a chemotherapy session, Nguyen Thi Dung (28 years old), a resident of Hamlet 12, Quynh Thanh Commune (Quynh Luu District) looked haggard. Her long hair had been cut off to prepare for the painful days ahead. Trying not to cry in front of her two young children, Dung said sadly: “Every time I look at them, my heart aches. They have suffered because they lost their father, and if I die now, I don’t know who will take care of them.”

Recalling the sad story, Ms. Dung choked up. In mid-2015, after a long time of saving, the couple built a small house. But along with the joy of having a new house was the burden of debt. Under economic pressure, Ms. Dung decided to take her second child, who was just over 1 year old, to the South to work as a hired hand, while her husband stayed home to farm and raise their first son. Tragically, a few days after Ms. Dung received her first salary, her husband was electrocuted and died. “Hearing the bad news, I cried while holding my child and took a bus back to my hometown to mourn my husband. He passed away in such a painful way, without saying goodbye to his wife and children,” Ms. Dung’s voice choked up.

After her husband passed away, Dung was diagnosed with a terrible cancer. Photo: Tran Vu

After burying her husband, the widow stayed home to raise her two children. However, due to debt, after Tet 2016, she had to tearfully send her son to his grandparents and take her daughter to the South to work.

However, illness continued to beset her family. Her daughter, who followed her mother to work, suddenly fell ill and had to be admitted to Children's Hospital 1. Food and medicine were expensive, and there were no relatives, so after nearly a month of struggling, the mother and daughter had to take a bus back to their hometown. That hospital stay cost more than 30 million VND.

Poor household certificate of Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung's family. Photo: Tran Vu

Back home, she was lucky to get a contract to cook for a local kindergarten. The salary was not much, but the main thing was that she could be there to take care of her two children who had lost their father.

When her one-year contract with the school ended, she was busy looking for a new job. During this time, she felt her health decline, she felt tired, had a loss of appetite, her throat hurt every time she swallowed saliva, and her back often ached... However, due to her circumstances, she just took a few doses of cold medicine to get over it and silently endured.

It was not until March 2018 that Ms. Dung decided to go to Quynh Luu District General Hospital for a check-up. There, she was urgently referred to Vinh. “At that time, although the doctor did not explain clearly, I had a feeling that something was wrong,” she said.

The very next day, she had to leave her two young children with relatives and take a bus to Nghe An Oncology Hospital for examination. The news that she had stage 3 tonsil lymphoma made Dung collapse. “At that time, all I could think about was my two young children. They had already lost their father, and if I were to leave now, I wouldn’t know who would take care of them,” she choked.

Documents related to Ms. Dung's cancer. Photo: Tran Vu

The pain did not stop there when the doctor diagnosed her with heart valve regurgitation, pulmonary regurgitation and latent hepatitis B. Ms. Dung shared that the doctors said that cancer was dangerous, and that the addition of heart, lung and liver diseases made treatment even more difficult, with many potential risks. Because surgery was not possible, Ms. Dung's treatment regimen consisted only of chemotherapy.

Looking at her two innocent children playing, Ms. Dung felt sad: “Yesterday, when I returned from the hospital, my daughter whispered: “Mom, if you die, who will I live with?” Hearing her say that, my heart ached. Could it be that God would leave my two children orphaned?”

Despite her grief, the young widow still tried to regain her spirit to fight the disease. “Now, I have to live for my two children. That is also the only motivation for me to firmly treat this terrible disease,” the young widow said.

Mr. Ho The Vien, head of Hamlet 12, confirmed that Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung is a poor household. "Her husband passed away, her two children are often sick, and now Ms. Dung has a serious illness, so she really needs the community's attention and support," Mr. Vien shared.

For any assistance, please contact Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung, Hamlet 12, Quynh Thanh Commune, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An. Phone: 01638668861. Or, Distribution Department - Social Work - Nghe An Newspaper, No. 03, Lenin Avenue - Vinh City - Nghe An.