In the sunshine of Hanoi, Luong Ha Chau (20 years old, from Hoa Binh ), has just received the results of a follow-up examination after half a year of being cured of cancer. She has just been discovered to have a new lesion, suspected to be a sequela of a previous brain tumor, requiring further monitoring.
Instead of being shocked and surprised like 2 years ago, Chau is now calm and composed in facing the results, because before, she also entered a new age with a journey unlike anyone else.
Two years ago, at an age when dreams should be bright and laughter carefree, Chau had to face cancer at the same time: thyroid cancer and brain tumor.
Silent Signs and Sudden Nightmares
It all starts with small signs that no one paid attention to. About a year ago she got sick, Chau suddenly became strangely thirsty, sometimes drinking up to 7 liters of water a day. Her family just thought it was the habit of a spoiled girl trying to attract attention.
It was not until the homeroom teacher repeatedly reported to the family that Chau was losing concentration in class and constantly asking to go out for a drink that the family was started. At the end of 2022, Chau was taken to the doctor. That was also the milestone that marked the beginning of a stormy journey.
The journey to finding out about the disease was not easy. Initially, Chau was taken to the Department of Psychiatry, Bach Mai Hospital and was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression.
In January 2023, one fateful night changed everything. Chau woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom, but suddenly lost feeling in her legs. When she tried to stand up, she fell to the floor. In a panic, Chau still tried to crawl back into bed, hoping that everything would be okay in the morning.
But by morning, she was completely paralyzed and unable to move. Her family rushed her to the local hospital. There, Chau was told she had a severe potassium deficiency due to an endocrine disorder, causing temporary paralysis.
Her parents hid her medical history, only gently encouraged their daughter to eat well and recover. But through their worried eyes, Chau sensed something more serious than words.
“I still remember one time, she took care of me in the hospital instead of my parents. At that time, I couldn't move a finger, so I had to let her feed me. She cried and sobbed, calling 'Bong…'. I felt so sorry for her, I wanted to hug her but I couldn't,” Chau recalled.
After 3 days of treatment at the local hospital without improvement, Chau was transferred to Bach Mai Hospital. Here, she was prescribed a series of drugs, both injections and infusions. After more than 10 days, her condition improved, Chau was discharged, along with a series of large and small bags of medicine. After only one month of taking the medicine, her body retained water, gaining 15kg in a row.
Feeling self-conscious about her appearance, Chau secretly quit smoking without her parents' knowledge. The 17-year-old girl at that time could not have imagined that her actions would lead to terrible consequences. Once again, Chau was paralyzed and had to be hospitalized again. Once again, the energetic schoolgirl had to be confined to a hospital bed.
“Those days, I was submerged in despair, almost giving up, tears kept flowing every night but I couldn't wipe them away because my whole body was paralyzed. However, a light pulled me back,” Chau said.
One night, from the dark hospital room of Bach Mai Hospital, Chau stepped out the window and vaguely saw the lights from the signboard of the National Economics University across the street.
At that moment, Chau felt like she had seen the light of her life, only that light was clearer and brighter. Memories of 12 years of hard work and many achievements came flooding back, pulling her out of the dark reality.
Chau decided to fight the disease, for a chance to continue going to school like her peers.
Days of Facing the Darkness
After a week of taking medication, her ability to walk gradually recovered and she was allowed to go home for outpatient treatment.
At this time, through looking up the name of the medicine, Chau had a suspicion about her illness, but absolutely, never once did the female student think that her life would bring her two "death sentences" at the same time before she turned 18.
“Once, when I was in the ambulance transferring him to another hospital, I saw my father crying, tears rolling down his face, but he tried to hold back his sobs so I couldn't hear. My parents must have had to hold back a lot,” Chau recalled.
In May 2023, when her illness became serious, Chau was transferred to K Hospital for examination. Here, she accidentally discovered the biggest shock through a sneak peek at her medical records.
“Luong Ha Chau, thyroid cancer, Letterer-Siwe multisystem Langerhans cell tumor (a type of malignant brain tumor - PV)”. The straight line of words on the medical record at that moment was like a thunderclap in a clear sky.
Outside the hospital room window, the clouds were still blue, the sun was still yellow, but in the mind of the 18-year-old girl at that time was a storm rolling with thousands of questions without answers.
For a moment, the thought of committing suicide crossed the female student's mind. Luckily, a patient in the same room was able to hold her back and alert her family.
That same night, a series of well wishes from her classmates were sent to Chau by her homeroom teacher. Those messages were like a fire warming her heart, giving her strength to continue fighting the disease.
After that day, Chau began to understand her illness better. This is a rare type of tumor, with no specific treatment regimen. Chau is young, so the doctors treated her with drugs and chemotherapy first.
She also had to undergo thyroid surgery in May 2023, just a month before her high school graduation exam.
However, the recovery process was not smooth. The incision healed quickly at first, but then split open and began to ooze fluid. Chau had to be hospitalized again right before the exam. The night before the Literature exam, the entire hospital had to quickly stitch up the incision so she could take the exam on time.
In the exam room, an unforgettable incident happened: the bandage on Chau's neck fell off. Because of the exam leak incident that year, she was not allowed to go out to change the bandage, so she had to sit and cover her neck with her shirt until the end of the exam, both in pain and worry.
However, Chau still completed the exam and was admitted directly to Foreign Trade University thanks to his previous excellent academic achievements.
Chau entered the most important exam of her life with a hastily stitched wound on her neck.
In July 2023, Chau began chemotherapy with the first round of 6 weeks each, interspersed with 2-3 weeks off for check-ups. After this round, the tumor shrank a bit. By the end of November 2023, the doctor announced that the tumor had disappeared on the X-ray image. After a year of follow-up, Chau was officially declared “cured”.
Hearing the results, the first-year student immediately called her mother to tell her the good news. Both ends of the line were choked up, because a difficult process had ended.
Looking back on that journey, Chau realized many things. From a negative girl, Chau became optimistic, seeing illness not as a barrier but as an opportunity to live a more meaningful life.
Although the future still holds challenges, 20-year-old Chau is no longer afraid.
For her, after the storm, there is always light. Her journey through cancer is not only a story of survival, but also a testament to the power of determination, love and faith in good things. Chau is still walking on her path, carrying a smile and a heart full of hope.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/tuoi-18-khong-giong-ai-cua-nu-sinh-mac-cung-luc-2-benh-ung-thu-20250707064524903.htm
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