In late May, Pham Danh, 48, massaged his daughter Hoang An's legs in the isolation room of the Clinical Hematology Department at Children's Hospital Ho Chi Minh City. The 15-year-old had just completed a chemotherapy session, but her body was not responding to the treatment.

When his daughter's pain subsided, the Khmer man tried to call his wife in their hometown but could not connect. "Her phone has been broken for several days. I am illiterate, so I cannot save neighbors' numbers to call and check on her", he said.

Danh's family is classified as impoverished in Chau Thanh commune, An Giang province. They live in a modest house provided by local authorities. His main income, about 2-3 million dong per month, comes from collecting scrap. His wife is blind in both eyes, suffers from heart disease, end-stage diabetes, and requires regular dialysis.

In October 2025, his daughter Hoang An developed a persistent fever. She was transferred from a provincial hospital to Ho Chi Minh City, where she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer. "I never had an education, so when I heard about my daughter's illness, I did not know how to find information to read. I felt confused and helpless", he recounted.

Thi Hoang An, 15, diagnosed with blood cancer, is receiving treatment at Children's Hospital Ho Chi Minh City on 20/5. *Photo: Hospital provided.*

After saving 10 million dong, he brought his daughter to the hospital. Back in their hometown, his youngest daughter, 12, stopped school to manage household chores and care for her mother. "I told my youngest to stay home, cook, and ask neighbors to take her mother for dialysis appointments", he said.

During the first chemotherapy round, An reacted poorly to the medication, unable to eat or drink. Her hair fell out, and she vomited frequently. Being illiterate, Danh had to seek out doctors for direct explanations. Each time he received an external prescription, he asked other patients' relatives to read it for him. "Holding the test results felt like holding a blank piece of paper. I could only look at the doctor's expression to guess my daughter's condition", Danh stated.

Doctor Mai Anh, Head of the Clinical Hematology Department at Children's Hospital Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the patient's body is currently not accepting chemotherapy. "An's case is an unclassifiable acute leukemia with a poor prognosis", Doctor Mai Anh explained.

The next treatment option is a stem cell transplant, estimated to cost one to two billion dong. The hospital is currently monitoring her bone marrow and blood cells while managing symptoms to determine the best course of action.

While health insurance covers inpatient chemotherapy costs, Danh struggles to afford supplementary medications and living expenses. For the past six months, he and his daughter have relied on charity meals. Any money received from donors is saved for purchasing medicine.

With his wife's phone broken, Danh cannot get updates from home, but he cannot leave the hospital due to An's risk of high fever. "There are times when I feel desperate enough to end my life, but then I remind myself that I must live so my wife and children have hope. Now, I just wish for my daughter's health; I will strive to ensure both children are educated and become good people", Danh expressed.

Aiming to instill hope in children facing difficult circumstances, the Hope Foundation, in collaboration with Ong Mat Troi, is implementing the Sun of Hope program. Every contribution from the community adds a ray of light to the nation's future generation. Readers can support the program here:

Program name: Ten cua ban - Mat troi Hy vong

Program ID: 22966

Nga Thanh