LD26233: Breast cancer takes away the hope of survival of the sole breadwinner in a poor family

We found a dilapidated hut of about 20m2 located on relatives' land in the late afternoon. This place is 2km from the main road and to enter, you have to wade more than 100m through a narrow dirt road.

The family had lived on this land before, living temporarily in the old house, but at the end of 2025, the house collapsed and there was not enough money to repair it, so they had to move to a corner of the land 10m away to hastily build a shack with tree posts, tarpaulin walls, and old corrugated iron roofs.

In that dilapidated hut, Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc An (46 years old) in Phuoc Long commune, Vinh Long province used to be the main laborer to support her elderly parents. However, the burden of life had not yet subsided when a health incident unexpectedly knocked her down.

The pain began in May 2025 when she received a diagnosis of malignant breast cancer. The tumor invaded and quickly metastasized, forcing her to undergo painful and exhausting chemotherapy sessions.

Her body is in pain from illness, but what makes Ms. An most tormented is the future of her parents. She choked up: "My health is exhausted, I can't make money but the cost is too high, I don't know what to take to support my elderly parents.

Feeling sorry for her 73-year-old father and 72-year-old mother who are old and weak, she tries to get clothes to cut threads to save about 1 million VND per month. Thanks to the locality belonging to the safe zone, she is partially covered by health insurance, but travel expenses for re-examination and buying medicine outside the list also consume this meager income, causing the whole family to fall into a state of living day by day.

Feeling sorry for the difficult situation of her filial son, Mrs. Bay Hoa (nearby neighbor) shared: "Uncle An has always been filial and hardworking in raising his parents. Now he suddenly fell seriously ill, the family fell into a deadlock, and everyone around pities him.

Looking around the dilapidated hut, the property has nothing of value except stacks of medical examination papers and stacked prescriptions. The savings accumulated for so long have run out, borrowing everywhere also has no one to rely on.

That deadlock became increasingly heavy as the terrible breast cancer still eroded her body every day. Her fragile hope of survival seemed to gradually close before the difficulties surrounding her from all sides.

Confirming this pitiful situation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang - Chairwoman of the Red Cross Society of the commune said: "Ms. An's family is in particularly difficult circumstances. The locality really hopes that philanthropists will be generous to help so that she has funds to continue treatment and overcome adversity.

The community's joint effort at this time is the only support to help Ms. An overcome the serious illness. We hope that kind hearts near and far will open their arms to embrace the bitter fate of her family.

All help for life situation LD26233 please send to Tam Long Vang Charity Social Fund - 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem Ward, Hanoi. Account number (STK) 113000000758 at VietinBank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi; Account number: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank Hanoi Branch; Account number: 12410001122556 - at BIDV Hoan Kiem Branch.

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