Mekong Delta man struggles with giant tumors on hand, back
April 11, 2012
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| Le Thanh Vu, 26, suffers from giant tumors in his back and left arm. |
It looks like Le Thanh Vu always carries a number of large bags in his left arm and on his back.
They are actually tumors that the 26-year-old man from Mong Tho Commune in Chau Thanh District, Kien Giang Province, has been suffering for more than two decades.
“He was born normal just like others but the tumors appeared in his chest, back and left hand since he was four years old,” said his mother Mui.
“His left arm began to grow rapidly and swallowed his shoulder and arm,” she said, adding that her son has become thin with the growth of the tumors.
Vu weighs 50 kilograms, but Mui said half of the weight belongs to the tumors, including three large ones on his back.
Although he cannot use his left hand, Vu tries to eke out a living selling lottery tickets since his father died several years ago.
“The other children got married and have their own families. Anyway, they are too poor to support me and Vu,” Mui said.
Vu said he sells about 60 lottery tickets to earn about VND60,000 (US$2.9) per day. He rents a small house for VND350,000 ($16.8) per month to stay in the province’s center, where he can sell more lottery tickets than at home.
“A kind family donates two meals per day. That’s why I have been able to save a little money to send to my mother,” he said.
Vu said the giant tumors make it really difficult to do simple things like wearing a shirt.
His mother said the family was so poor that they did not seek any diagnosis or treatment of his disease.
“I suffer from frequent ailments and have to depend on him, while he is already struggling to earn a living,” she said.
By Dinh Phu, Thanh Nien News
