A 22-year-old man who has lost one leg and part of his lungs to cancer remains upbeat and has initiated a fund to help children suffering from the same illness.
Chu Duc Liem, now a history major at the Hanoi University of Social Sciences and the Humanities, has lost one leg and part of his lungs to bone cancer and metastasis.
However, the young man has refused to succumb to his devastating illness, and shared that what is important to he and his mother is not how long he lives, but what he can do for others.
Three years ago Liem showed up as the host of the “Uoc Mo cua Thuy” (Thuy’s Dream) program.
The program and its “Sunflower Festival” is held annually in fond memory of Le Thanh Thuy, a high school girl famous for her long, hard struggle against bone cancer before she passed away on November 2, 2007, and the establishment of Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper’s “Thuy’s Dream Foundation” to support children with cancer.
Last Sunday, Tuoi Tre began the seventh one-day “Sunflower Festival” for children with cancer at the Youth Cultural House in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1.
Liem’s repeated hospitalizations over three years still haven’t drained him, though he needs to be more wary of changes in the atmosphere.
Though his outside appearance has changed a lot, his bright smile, optimism and zeal remain the same.
When he had just finished 10th grade in 2008, Liem was diagnosed with bone cancer and doctors decided to amputate his left leg to save his life.
“I was devastated, and couldn’t visualize how I would go on with only one leg. During my hospitalization, while seeing the child patients with cancer who steadfastly hung on to life and yearned for more time to do things, I began to change,” the young man shared.
“Thuy- the famous patient who died of cancer in 2007- once said in her book that we should only be depressed if depression could cure our illness. So I thought, why can’t I be as optimistic and happy as possible?,” he added.
Liem had to suspend his education for four years before and after passing the university entrance exam.
Against all odds, he resumed his studies and has made the most of his life.
The deaths and living wills of several young cancer patients spurred Liem to found the “Nu Cuoi” (Smile) charity group in June to bring smiles to the kids.
The group holds two programs a month, in which the children at Hanoi’s K Hospital- where Liem has been receiving treatment- are showered with gifts, games and educational activities.
“We faced immense financial difficulty when we first founded the group. But things are much better now, as our 40 members and contributors have always tried their best. The children with cancer, not me, are the one who kindle the flame of sharing and inspire the group,” Liem shared.
Their latest project, “1k photo,” gathers photos which are sent to their fanpage and donate VND1,000 (US$0.05) each to the group’s charitable activities.
They aimed to receive 1,000 photos by the Sunflower Festival last Sunday.
Liem plans to eventually hold four charity programs a month and open a library where the kids can enjoy themselves after days of battling their illness.
