Fund life-saving healthcare in Cambodia

Leaving her hometown more than ten years ago, Chantha settled down in Phnom Penh with her family. She is a thirty-nine years old widow with a daughter and a son. Her oldest daughter is sixteen years old. She has to leave school when she is only in eighth grade and started a job as a factory worker after her mother fell sick. Her youngest son is ten years old yet he is still in first grade. Chantha was a food seller before she was diagnosed with ovarian cystic mass. They live in a rented room which costs forty dollars a month. Chantha paused her business for about five to six months around the time she started to feel ailing.

Chantha has known about her abdominal mass for approximately one year by self-palpation, and she noticed that it is fast growing. Three months prior to her visit to Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope (SHCH), she started experiencing abdominal distension. She then went to a private clinic to discuss it. As a result, she had a positive Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). She regularly took medication for treatment but her health condition is still not improving. She then decided to stop the treatment and started taking Khmer traditional medicine for two months. On the other hand, her abdomen kept getting bigger and bigger day by day, and she also had trouble digesting food. She was looking for a trusted hospital when her in-law recommended SHCH as her treatment center.

Arriving with a heavy heart, Chantha came to discuss her condition with SHCH’s doctor. She was instructed to undergo an abdominopelvic ultrasound and Computed Tomography (CT) scan. The findings indicate that she had a huge abdominopelvic cystic mass on her right ovary with a size of 23.3 × 30.3 × 19.1 cm. Her stomach was as big as a nine-months pregnant lady. The operation of right ovariectomy was scheduled immediately, and it was a successful one.

She is recovering well; therefore, she can be discharged and go back home tomorrow. She stated that “I have a very comfortable stay here in SHCH. The doctor explains my condition very well. He also calmed me down when I was very nervous about the operation. All the staffs here are very well-manner and always pay close attention to me in case I am uncomfortable or need something. Additionally, the whole facility is spotlessly cleaned.” She continued “I would like to say thank you to all the donors who support me in my treatment. I pray that all of you always be healthy and wealthy.”

Sharing about her future goal, Chantha cannot wait to gain back her energy and return to health so that she can resume her job to support her kids. Falling a victim to this illness affected her family so much that her oldest daughter had to quit school to find a job.