appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Liya Su

A 10-year-old boy in northern China gave his family a tear-jerker Father’s Day present when he donated his entire savings, 713 yuan (US$107), to help pay for his five-year-old sister’s leukaemia treatment.
The boy, Zhang Chenguang from Henan province, had saved the money for three years and gave it to his father as a gift for the special day.
His sister, Zhang Jiayah, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in May this year, and the family was told the cost of treatment would top 400,000 yuan (US$60,000).
The parents, who are unemployed, reached out to the local Red Cross charity for financial help.
The Red Cross called for public donations for the family and coordinated local organisations, such as the kindergarten where the girl went to and neighbourhood committees, to run charity drives. Through their efforts, the family was able to pay for the leukaemia treatment.

When the boy heard that the donations of strangers had helped his family pay for the treatment, Zhang decided he would also contribute and give his piggy bank to his father as a Father’s Day gift.
“I saw my father’s hair had started to turn grey, and I wanted to ease his burden,” a sobbing Zhang told Henan Radio & Television Network.
According to the regional broadcaster, the father wrapped his arm around his son, trying to comfort the boy. His sister also began crying during a video call when this happened.
“I found it was tough to donate all my savings, but I still did it because I had planned to give my savings to my sister, even if she was not sick,” he said.
According to Zhang’s father, the girl is in good condition after receiving treatment at the ICU.

Zhang’s goodwill spread across Chinese social media despite the reality that the 713 yuan was just a drop in the bucket to pay for the little girl’s treatment.
One person wrote on Weibo: “I hope his sister can survive the battle against cancer and go home to reunite with the family soon.”
Late last year, China issued a report about childhood leukaemia statistics in 2020, finding that among 436 hospitals surveyed, the incidence of leukaemia for children younger than 14 stood at 34 cases per million people.
The five-year survival rate for children who developed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in China was 90 per cent.


GSK licenses Chinese firm’s cancer drug in US$750 million deal

12 years after surviving breast cancer, a new health scare tests an American journalist

How man’s best friends could be AI-enhanced doctors able to sniff out tumours

Who was Gloria Steinem’s late husband, David Bale – the father of Christian Bale?

Cancer

‘I wanted to ease his burden’: 10-year-old boy in China gives 3-year savings as Father’s Day gift to help pay for younger sister’s cancer treatment

A young boy gave his father his life savings after his sister was diagnosed with leukaemia. Photo: SCMP composite

Zhang hands his father his piggy bank as a gesture to help his sister fight cancer. Photo: Weibo

The sister is reportedly doing well after treatment. Photo: Weibo

Oscar-winning Japanese musician ‘The Last Emperor’ Sakamoto battling stage IV cancer

The Last Emperor, with Tao Wu and Joan Chen, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci with score by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Photo: HKIFF

New breast cancer drug could help thousands, researchers say

A woman undergoing mammogram screening to detect breast cancer. Photo: Shutterstock

Enhertu, an antibody-chemotherapy drug administered intravenously, could help thousands with breast cancer. Photo: AP

What is inflammation? Causes, types, symptoms, treatment for chronic cases, and its link to cancer and autoimmune diseases

Inflammation, causes, symptoms, treatment, chronic cases, risks, heart disease, immune system. Photo: Shutterstock

Experts explain the different types of inflammation and the potential risks, and provide advice on how sleep, whole foods and exercise can make it go away. Photo: Shutterstock

When acute inflammation becomes chronic it starts to have a negative impact on our health. Photo: Shutterstock

Maxi Schoenteich is an osteopath and functional medicine practitioner in Hong Kong.

Typical symptoms of acute inflammation include redness, pain, heat, swelling and loss of function. Photo: Shutterstock

Fill your plate with anti-inflammatory whole foods, especially colourful, antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables, green tea, and foods like walnuts and oily fish, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids. Photo: Shutterstock

Naras Lapsys is a consultant dietitian and longevity medicine practitioner at The Integrative Medical Centre in Singapore.

New research found that an inflammatory disorder led to changes occurring in cells in the bone marrow in mice that increased the animals’ risk of developing arthritis. Photo: Shutterstock

Get seven hours of uninterrupted quality sleep every night to set the foundation for a healthy immune system. Photo: Shutterstock

To prevent or minimise chronic inflammation, get physically active. Photo: Shutterstock

What is CUP cancer? Symptoms, life expectancy and the treatment situation of ‘cancer of unknown primary origin’

Cheryl Taylor Bagenstose with her children and husband as she battled CUP cancer - cancer of unknown primary origin - in April 2022. Photo: courtesy of the Bagenstose family

A young Cheryl Taylor Bagenstose, who died in spring 2022 from CUP cancer. Photo: courtesy of the Bagenstose family

Bagenstose with her granddaughter. Photo: courtesy of the Bagenstose family

Bagenstose embraces her son Kyle during their mother-son dance at Kyle’s wedding in October 2021, about four months before her diagnosis. Photo: courtesy of the Bagenstose family

News

People & Culture

Social Welfare


The boy had saved 713 yuan (US$107) of pocket money over three years in his piggy bank
He decided to donate the money after seeing how much help the family had received through charity



A boy in China donated three years of savings as a Father’s Day gift to support his family as they tried to pay for his little sister’s leukaemia treatment.


Father's Day

Health in China

‘I wanted to ease his burden’: 10-year-old boy in China gives 3-year savings as Father’s Day gift to help pay for younger sister’s cancer treatment

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The boy had saved 713 yuan (US$107) of pocket money over three years in his piggy bank He decided to donate the money after seeing how much help the family had received through charity

The boy had saved 713 yuan (US$107) of pocket money over three years in his piggy bank

He decided to donate the money after seeing how much help the family had received through charity