This Vietnamese teen keeps shining despite cancer battle

Vy, a student at Nguyen Sinh Cung High School in Hue City, central Vietnam, is determined to fight the disease, refusing to give up on her studies and holding on to the hope of returning to school soon.

In 2024, the teen received the devastating news that she had bone cancer.

The shock left her devastated, as many of her dreams and plans during her teenage years seemed to come to a sudden halt.

With encouragement and support from her parents, she gradually regained her strength and began a long and difficult journey of treatment.

Tran Thi Loang, 35, Vy’s mother, shared that her daughter underwent surgery to remove the tumor.

The greatest blessing was that doctors were able to save Vy’s legs.

“It felt like a miracle, giving our whole family more motivation to continue the treatment journey,” Loang said.

Repeated chemotherapy sessions reduced Vy’s weight to just over 30 kilograms, and her long hair completely fell out.

There were nights when she could not sleep because of persistent pain, but she never once considered giving up.

Whenever her health improves, the girl takes out her books and studies right on her hospital bed.

Besides her treatment schedule, she also spends time selling products online to earn a small amount of money to help her family cover medical expenses.

“Whatever comes will come, so I don’t want to overthink things and make myself feel worse,” Vy said.

“Seeing my parents struggle and worry because of my illness makes me feel that I have to try harder, continue treatment, and never give up,” she shared.

Cancer can't keep her from the classroom

Tran Thi Nhung, Vy’s homeroom teacher at Nguyen Sinh Cung High School, recalled that when she first met Vy, she only wondered why her student always wore a wig.

“Later, I learned that she had taken a year off school to receive cancer treatment before returning,” Nhung shared with emotion.

Knowing that her student was passionate about learning, Nhung gave Vy a ruler engraved with the words “Success comes from effort and perseverance.”

Each time Vy was hospitalized for chemotherapy, the ruler and her books accompanied her like close friends.

There was a time when Nhung saw Vy studying while receiving chemotherapy and advised her to temporarily stop attending classes to focus on recovery.

The young student hugged her teacher and burst into tears.

“As long as I am well enough, I still want to go to school and continue wearing ao dai,” Vy said.

Tran Thi Toan, 68, Vy’s grandmother, said that Vy is in a lot of pain, but she quietly endures it.

“Whenever she feels even a little better, the first thing she wants is to go back to school,” Toan said.

Vy’s greatest wish is simply to regain her health, return to a normal life, continue going to school, and no longer see her parents staying awake through the night because of her.

With her determination and optimism, the 17-year-old girl continues to pursue her studies while fighting cancer, becoming a source of encouragement for many others battling illness.