The 'death list' in cancer villages.

(Baonghean.vn) - The "storm" of cancer has swept through, plunging many villages in Nghia Dan district into despair.

The "Death List"

Mr. Dang Xuan Phap, head of Phu Tien hamlet, Nghia Phu commune, Nghia Dan district, greeted us with a sigh, "In this village, you encounter cancer as soon as you step out of your house. It's heartbreaking to think about! That terrible disease spares no one. It's bad enough that the elderly die, but it doesn't spare the young either. No one living here can be sure they won't be next."

Without needing to consult his notebook, he rattled off the names of all the people in the neighborhood who had contracted the disease. From their family circumstances to the type of cancer and the time of their death.

"In just the last five or seven years, this whole neighborhood has had as many as 40 cancer cases. Mostly throat, lung, and liver cancer... And it's so painful! Most of them die young," Mr. Phap said sadly.

This figure is still not entirely accurate because since the number of cancer cases increased, no one in the community dares to go for a check-up for fear of having cancer like those others. "Either way, we're all going to die! It's better not to know and live happily for a few more days than to live in constant fear," one resident sighed.

Following Mr. Pháp's directions, we found the home of Lê Đình Vũ, who recently passed away from brain cancer at the young age of 17. In the small house, the young mother sat silently beside her son's altar. Vũ's death had caused a tremendous shock to the entire family.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sinh, 47 years old, mother of Le Dinh Vu, passed away due to brain cancer. Photo: Thuy Loi

“Poor boy! Just the other day he was helping his mother herd the cows, and the next day he came home complaining of a headache. I thought he got sunstroke from being in the sun, but I never imagined that from that day on, he would cry every day. More than a month later, I took him to the doctor and was shocked to find out he had brain cancer. The whole family tried everything to get him treatment, but to no avail,” the mother sobbed.

Not far from Mr. Phap's house, Mr. Nguyen Van An, an unfortunate victim, recently passed away at the young age of 40 due to lung cancer. "That man was hardworking and considerate, yet fate cruelly took him away. What a waste!" lamented a neighbor.

It's not just Phu Tien hamlet; the three adjacent hamlets of Hoa Vinh Son, Binh Minh, and Vinh Quang (Nghia Hoi commune) are also facing the same situation.

According to Mr. Cao Xuan Tang, head of Hoa Vinh Son hamlet: "Several hamlets around the 1/5 agricultural farm all have people suffering from cancer. In the last 3-4 years, my hamlet alone has had more than twenty cancer cases, and there are many more cases of tumors, miscarriages, or premature births."

Most alarming is the case where two or three people in the same family are afflicted with the disease, like the case of Mr. Cao Van Phuong and his son in Vinh Quang hamlet. The son was diagnosed with leukemia at the young age of 20. Before everyone could recover from the shock, the father (42 years old) was found to have end-stage liver cancer.

Two devastating misfortunes befell the family, who had not yet escaped their status as a poor household in the village. Just over a month after being diagnosed with the disease, both father and son passed away, leaving behind a huge debt and three young children for the wife to manage alone. Everyone in the neighborhood was worried, wondering where this terrible disease had come from.

The list of people with cancer in Phu Tien hamlet that Mr. Phap monitored. Photo: Thuy Loi

Find the cause.

Although the water used by the local people has not been tested, everyone believes that the source of cancer in this area is the water taken from the Phu Tho dam in Nghia Phu commune. In particular, Phu Tien hamlet, located upstream, has the highest rate of cancer.

“Previously, people used pesticides to protect coffee plants from pests and diseases. After each rain, the water rushed into the dam, so after many years, the water source became contaminated. In fact, this is the drinking water source for households in the area, so it is highly likely that this is the cause of the cancer cases,” speculated Mr. Nguyen Van Long, a worker at the plantation.

The Phu Tho Dam is the main source of water for the local people. Photo: Irrigation Department.

According to Mr. Long, the Phu Tien hamlet area used to be a storage site for fertilizers and pesticides belonging to the 1/5 agricultural farm. There were many scattered warehouses containing pesticides (types 666, DDT, etc.) throughout the hamlet and along the Phu Tho dam. These pesticides are highly toxic to humans and are now banned from use. It takes several decades for them to decompose.

It is noteworthy that the two kindergartens and Nghia Phu Primary School, located in Phu Tien hamlet, were built on land that was formerly a pesticide storage facility. Every day, the teachers and students still use raw well water for their daily needs.

"We've complained to the authorities countless times, and the press has even come to gather information. But there's still no response, and all we can do is wait in vain," Mr. Long confided.

In the weak afternoon sunlight, with the faint scent of herbs wafting from the houses where the sick lived, I left, my heart filled with sorrow for the hardworking farmers. Whose name will be next in the village headman's register?

I felt a lump in my throat as I thought about the innocent eyes of little Quyen, Diep's daughter—those clear eyes that will soon no longer see her father. Her poor father is now struggling in agony, counting down his final days.

Irrigation