Family sells everything to save daughter, but cancer wins

Inside a small house in Dai Dong Commune, Phu Tho Province, incense still burns beside a photograph of Bui Thi Huyen Trang, who died earlier this year at the age of 21 after a long battle with cancer.

Her oxygen cylinder and unused pain medication remain near the bed where she spent her final months, while her mother, Bui Thi Nhan, 42, says she has not yet found the strength to put away her daughter's belongings.

"Even now, I still cannot believe she is gone," Nhan said through tears. "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking she is calling for me to help her sit up or bring her medicine."

Family members described Trang as a diligent and determined young woman. During her school years, she excelled in karate and won several medals in provincial student competitions.

Because of financial difficulties, she chose not to attend university after graduating from high school. Instead, she took a factory job in Bac Ninh Province to help support her family and younger siblings.

"Every month she tried to save money and send it home. She always thought about the family first," her mother said.

The family's ordeal began in mid 2023 when Trang was injured in a motorcycle accident. During treatment, doctors discovered cancer in her left femur.

Over the following months, she underwent repeated rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy before requiring surgery to replace part of the diseased bone. The operation alone cost more than VND 600 million (approximately USD 23,000).

Desperate to save their daughter, her parents sold their home and moved in with her grandparents.

When the proceeds were exhausted, the grandparents sold their garden plot and borrowed money from relatives and lenders to cover further treatment costs.

Although Trang's condition initially stabilised after surgery, the cancer later spread to her lungs and caused heart complications.

During the final two months of her life, she depended on oxygen support. Despite severe pain, her family said she often tried to hide her suffering to avoid worrying her parents.

"We watched her struggle to breathe and endure constant pain, and there was nothing we could do," Nhan said.

After years of exhausting every available resource, the family was unable to save her.

"Everything we could sell, we sold. We only wanted our daughter to live," the grieving mother said.

Now burdened by debt and loss, the family faces a new challenge.

The house and farmland are gone, and the family is living in the deteriorating home of Trang's elderly grandparents.

Nhan and her husband are also raising their three-year-old son, who has Down syndrome and frequently suffers from health problems.

"There are days when my son has a fever and I do not even have enough money to take him to the doctor," she said.

To make ends meet, her husband works far from home while Nhan has taken a job at a nearby garment workshop. Their combined income is barely enough to cover daily expenses.

The situation has become even more difficult as her mother-in-law requires ongoing medical treatment, while both grandparents have suffered declining health since Trang's death.

Looking at her daughter's portrait, Nhan said: "The house is gone, the land is gone, and now my daughter is gone too. We can only keep going and do our best to care for our children and our elderly parents."

Bui Van Bien, head of Bum 2 Hamlet, said Nhan's family is among the most disadvantaged households in the community.

"They sold everything and borrowed heavily in an attempt to save their daughter, but they still lost her," Bien said. "Now they are carrying substantial debt while caring for a young child with Down syndrome and elderly parents in poor health."

He expressed hope that charitable support would help the family overcome its difficulties and ensure the youngest child receives timely medical care.