A Dantri reporter handed over the donation to Dang Quoc Thanh, 46, and his wife Nguyen Thi Sua, 45, who are living in My Phong Ward on January 25. The funds were raised after their plight was reported by the newspaper.
The couple’s story touched many readers, generating vital support to help them pursue treatment and cover school fees for their children.
Thanh said he was deeply moved by the outpouring of support. Both he and his wife are unable to work due to illness, yet still face mounting medical bills and the cost of raising two school-age children.
“Dantri readers’ help is like a lifebuoy that has saved our lives and given my daughter the motivation to finish university,” he said, adding that his daughter is in her final year and had repeatedly offered to drop out to work and support the family.
According to Sua, the donation has allowed her to take her husband for regular chemotherapy over the past month, during which he has completed 10 treatment courses. The couple have also been using traditional herbal medicine in the hope of easing his condition.
“If it weren’t for Dantri readers, our family would not have been able to enjoy the Lunar New Year or Tet Festival this year because we would have had no money for treatment or school fees,” she said, thanking donors for their kindness.
Thanh is suffering from rectal cancer that has spread to his liver, while Sua has breast cancer and has had her left breast removed. Despite their failing health, both are struggling on for the sake of their two children.
To pay for treatment, Sua mortgaged her parents’ home for more than VND 300 million. But with no income and rising medical and school costs, the family has since fallen deep into debt and can no longer cope financially.