Help Nga fighting lymphoma (cancer)
Donation protected
I’m a Vietnamese who just moved to Germany recently. Together with our fundraising team, we'd like to share the story of our close friend, Nga, who is still struggling with lymphoma (a type of cell cancer) in a foreign country away from home and family.
Nga is life-loving, kind, warm-hearted and one of the hardest working person I know. She turned 32 this year and got married only 2 months before she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2016. In general, lymphoma is known to be curable, however, it can be a fatal disease if the patient is not treated right. Unfortunately, that has been her case so far.
This is Nga and her husband a few days after their wedding, before they got the bad news of this cancer
Her disease started around the end of 2015, when she got a terrible cough that wouldn’t go away. She did go to many hospitals for checking but nothing abnormal or serious was found. After her wedding and honeymoon in October 2016, her health condition became worse. She decided to take more comprehensive check-ups at a big hospital with various tets and surgical biopsy. The biopsy result the hospital gave her was “non-Hodgkin Lymphoma”.
On January 20th 2017, she started on the first cycle of combined Chemotherapy and Targeted therapy in Vietnam. After 3 cycles of treatment, the review result showed that the mediastinal nodes still remained the same. This was rare for her type of disease because based on the average statistics, 90% of the symptoms can be cured within the first few cycles of treatment.
Suspecting that the first diagnosis was incorrect, she brought the above mentioned tumor block to other hospitals for lab test. The result this time, according to this hospital, was “Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer”. So, after 3 costly cycles of treatment, it seemed that the diagnosis turned out to be inaccurate right from the beginning. She continued another 4 treatments cycles based on new diagnose, however, the CT scan images showed that there were still some lymph nodes in the chest, they were even bigger than the initial ones. Having spent lot a lot of money and effort, she felt that the treatment in Vietnam was not as effective as she expected.
Nga at under treatment at the stated hospital in Vietnam
Nga started looking for chances to win her fight, researching and reading all the medical journals she could get about her diseases and contacted with foreign hospitals in the field. She then got in touch with the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS - part of Singapore General Hospital, a public hospital in Singapore). But of course, as expected, it would be extremely costly to undergo her treatment there, especially when she does not have overseas medical insurances.
In the end, with a lot of encouragement from family and friends, she decided to go to Singapore. The doctor in NCCS suggested her undergo an open surgery for an accurate diagnosis of her mediastinal nodes, but she could not proceed due to lack of fund. According to him, it is now complicated for her treatment because of the previous misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment in Vietnam. Currently, they are providing her with a new treatment plan of chemotherapy, however, if the condition does not improve after the first two cycles, they will need to change to other expensive treatments (novel or experimental therapy such as Brentuximab - USD10,000/dose) or probably auto stem cell transplant (estimated USD150,000).
The amount of money so far already costs a lot for her and her family, so she is not sure how long she can continue the current treatment, let alone those new expensive ones. In order to support Nga’s treatment in Singapore, her family had to borrow money from relatives. On the other hand, they have already put up for sale their family's house where they have been living for more than 30 years to get more money for the coming treatment. Her husband also quitted his job to accompany and take care of her in Singapore. Besides her chemotherapy expenses, it will also cost her a lot for staying in Singapore as well as regular check-ups (blood tests, periodic PET) and hospitalization in case of post-chemo complications which is highly expensive for non-Singaporean residents (ward fee is USD500/night plus medicines).
Nga at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore last week
Nga is a very kind person, and she silently gets on with her own fight with a constant smile and an optimistic attitude with everyone. She always tells everyone she needs to be cheerful so everyone will not be sad. But we all know that it is too much of a struggle for one person. Even though she did not ask, on behalf of her, her families and friends in Vietnam, I’d like to ask everyone who reads this to help her in the most practical way by donating for her treatment.
Donation will be made to my bank account in Germany (as the payment processors of GoFundMe aren't able to work in Vietnam or Singapore) and the money will be transferred to Nga (of course we will show the transfer evidence). We are thankful for ANY kind of help!
Please also share our call with as many people as possible! We will keep you updated with everything that is going to happen!
At the moment, we also have a Facebook page to support Nga and many friends are responding enthusiastically. Please also join and share your voice, because such a simple thing can also help brighten her day.
https://www.facebook.com/fightwiththunga
Thank you!
This is a short message from Nga herself:
I am young and I have a lot of plans. I live and work enthusiastically. I believe in an active lifestyle and that a young girl can have a good and meaningful career and I always try my best for that. I’m also very fortunate, because I found a wonderful man and we started something which we call happy ending. However, only 2 months after my wedding, the doctor told me that I got cancer! “Me? But I am only 30 years old, I have been living healthy and I am active. I want to do many things for my new life with my newly-wedded husband” – that was the very first thought that came across my mind at that moment. I felt really really sad. That kind of feeling when you were having so much hope and so many plans for life and then they told you they may not happen. I did not cry but I felt very heavy and sad. It took me some time to calm down, then I told myself that this is only a challenge like many other challenges I have to face in my life. I went through 7 cycles of chemo treatment in Vietnam but unluckily, it turned out to be a wrong treatment, which partly damaged my body with no effectiveness. I didn’t blame on it but I am not sure how my life would be if I continue following medical treatments in my country, where there is still a lack of advanced medical facilities and medicines. Some cancer patients who had the same disease, shared the same room, even the same bed with me, have passed away – some were very young (even younger than me). I can suffer side effects such as exhaustion, nausea, serious stomach pains. I think I am used to that. But seeing the people who are in similar cases with me passing away and thinking about myself is even worse. Not to mention the physical and mental struggle I got everyone around me involved. Deciding to go to Singapore for treatment is a very hard decision for me as I understand that my family may not afford all of it. I know how hard my parents have been working and still they are not well off. Still, they told me that my life and the fact that I am strong and healthy is more important for them than anything, so they would encourage me to take the chance and they would try everything for that. I am fortunate to be able to live till today, and be loved by everyone surrounding me. But I know this is not easy, and I am really praying for a miracle !
Nga is life-loving, kind, warm-hearted and one of the hardest working person I know. She turned 32 this year and got married only 2 months before she was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2016. In general, lymphoma is known to be curable, however, it can be a fatal disease if the patient is not treated right. Unfortunately, that has been her case so far.
This is Nga and her husband a few days after their wedding, before they got the bad news of this cancerHer disease started around the end of 2015, when she got a terrible cough that wouldn’t go away. She did go to many hospitals for checking but nothing abnormal or serious was found. After her wedding and honeymoon in October 2016, her health condition became worse. She decided to take more comprehensive check-ups at a big hospital with various tets and surgical biopsy. The biopsy result the hospital gave her was “non-Hodgkin Lymphoma”.
On January 20th 2017, she started on the first cycle of combined Chemotherapy and Targeted therapy in Vietnam. After 3 cycles of treatment, the review result showed that the mediastinal nodes still remained the same. This was rare for her type of disease because based on the average statistics, 90% of the symptoms can be cured within the first few cycles of treatment.
Suspecting that the first diagnosis was incorrect, she brought the above mentioned tumor block to other hospitals for lab test. The result this time, according to this hospital, was “Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer”. So, after 3 costly cycles of treatment, it seemed that the diagnosis turned out to be inaccurate right from the beginning. She continued another 4 treatments cycles based on new diagnose, however, the CT scan images showed that there were still some lymph nodes in the chest, they were even bigger than the initial ones. Having spent lot a lot of money and effort, she felt that the treatment in Vietnam was not as effective as she expected.
Nga at under treatment at the stated hospital in VietnamNga started looking for chances to win her fight, researching and reading all the medical journals she could get about her diseases and contacted with foreign hospitals in the field. She then got in touch with the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS - part of Singapore General Hospital, a public hospital in Singapore). But of course, as expected, it would be extremely costly to undergo her treatment there, especially when she does not have overseas medical insurances.
In the end, with a lot of encouragement from family and friends, she decided to go to Singapore. The doctor in NCCS suggested her undergo an open surgery for an accurate diagnosis of her mediastinal nodes, but she could not proceed due to lack of fund. According to him, it is now complicated for her treatment because of the previous misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment in Vietnam. Currently, they are providing her with a new treatment plan of chemotherapy, however, if the condition does not improve after the first two cycles, they will need to change to other expensive treatments (novel or experimental therapy such as Brentuximab - USD10,000/dose) or probably auto stem cell transplant (estimated USD150,000).
The amount of money so far already costs a lot for her and her family, so she is not sure how long she can continue the current treatment, let alone those new expensive ones. In order to support Nga’s treatment in Singapore, her family had to borrow money from relatives. On the other hand, they have already put up for sale their family's house where they have been living for more than 30 years to get more money for the coming treatment. Her husband also quitted his job to accompany and take care of her in Singapore. Besides her chemotherapy expenses, it will also cost her a lot for staying in Singapore as well as regular check-ups (blood tests, periodic PET) and hospitalization in case of post-chemo complications which is highly expensive for non-Singaporean residents (ward fee is USD500/night plus medicines).
Nga at Singapore General Hospital in Singapore last weekNga is a very kind person, and she silently gets on with her own fight with a constant smile and an optimistic attitude with everyone. She always tells everyone she needs to be cheerful so everyone will not be sad. But we all know that it is too much of a struggle for one person. Even though she did not ask, on behalf of her, her families and friends in Vietnam, I’d like to ask everyone who reads this to help her in the most practical way by donating for her treatment.
Donation will be made to my bank account in Germany (as the payment processors of GoFundMe aren't able to work in Vietnam or Singapore) and the money will be transferred to Nga (of course we will show the transfer evidence). We are thankful for ANY kind of help!
Please also share our call with as many people as possible! We will keep you updated with everything that is going to happen!
At the moment, we also have a Facebook page to support Nga and many friends are responding enthusiastically. Please also join and share your voice, because such a simple thing can also help brighten her day.
https://www.facebook.com/fightwiththunga
Thank you!
This is a short message from Nga herself:
I am young and I have a lot of plans. I live and work enthusiastically. I believe in an active lifestyle and that a young girl can have a good and meaningful career and I always try my best for that. I’m also very fortunate, because I found a wonderful man and we started something which we call happy ending. However, only 2 months after my wedding, the doctor told me that I got cancer! “Me? But I am only 30 years old, I have been living healthy and I am active. I want to do many things for my new life with my newly-wedded husband” – that was the very first thought that came across my mind at that moment. I felt really really sad. That kind of feeling when you were having so much hope and so many plans for life and then they told you they may not happen. I did not cry but I felt very heavy and sad. It took me some time to calm down, then I told myself that this is only a challenge like many other challenges I have to face in my life. I went through 7 cycles of chemo treatment in Vietnam but unluckily, it turned out to be a wrong treatment, which partly damaged my body with no effectiveness. I didn’t blame on it but I am not sure how my life would be if I continue following medical treatments in my country, where there is still a lack of advanced medical facilities and medicines. Some cancer patients who had the same disease, shared the same room, even the same bed with me, have passed away – some were very young (even younger than me). I can suffer side effects such as exhaustion, nausea, serious stomach pains. I think I am used to that. But seeing the people who are in similar cases with me passing away and thinking about myself is even worse. Not to mention the physical and mental struggle I got everyone around me involved. Deciding to go to Singapore for treatment is a very hard decision for me as I understand that my family may not afford all of it. I know how hard my parents have been working and still they are not well off. Still, they told me that my life and the fact that I am strong and healthy is more important for them than anything, so they would encourage me to take the chance and they would try everything for that. I am fortunate to be able to live till today, and be loved by everyone surrounding me. But I know this is not easy, and I am really praying for a miracle !
Fundraising team: Fundraising team (2)
Le Thanh Mai
Organizer
Großostheim
Daniel Heller
Beneficiary
Nhat M. Be
Team member
