On the morning of September 4, drums rang out in the hall of Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, marking the first day of school for the 2026-2027 school year for 120 pediatric cancer patients.
Director of Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan, sounded the drum to open the new school year. And Dr. Lam Duc Hoang, Head of the Department of Head and Neck Radiation Therapy, sang for the children the song I love your school, opening the series of musical performances performed by the patient himself.
Yen Linh, 16 years old, from Vinh Long, in a wheelchair, was pushed into the hall early by her mother. In April this year, I received a diagnosis of leukemia. Linh took the online secondary school graduation exam and completed the 10th grade registration application, but has not yet passed through the high school gate because she is still receiving chemotherapy. Looking at the children preparing for the ceremony, I hope one day to wear uniforms again and return to class.
Not far away, Ha My, 10 years old, bald after treatments, watched the musical performances. I have neuroblastoma, a tumor that develops from immature nerve cells, so I can't enter 4th grade yet. My remembers the opening ceremonies at her old school and is happy because she attended a back-to-school ceremony today.
"I like to draw and play musical instruments," she said.
Thanh Danh, 10 years old, has been with the class the longest among his friends. I discovered a brain tumor in 2022. I had just finished preschool and had not yet entered first grade. Danh's illness caused Danh to sometimes forget the words he had learned, but he still wanted to continue studying. Not going to school, the boy taught himself through YouTube, passionate about history and songs about soldiers.
Danh talked with Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, and People's Artist Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, about Cu Chi tunnels, the former Soviet Union, heroes flying fighter planes, B40 and M16 guns. I even raised my voice to sing the song "Singing forever on the march", Five brothers on a tank.
"I want to get better so I can go to school," Danh said.
The Sunflower class is located in a small room at the end of the Pediatric Oncology Department, operating since 2009. Initially, the teachers mainly taught the children to read and write to help them remember school. Since May this year, the class has added more music and fun, helping children relieve stress after long days of treatment.
Every afternoon, about 20-25 children come to learn literacy, do crafts, draw, sing, and play musical instruments. Class size changes depending on health status. Some students had long hair on the first day of class, but a few months later returned with bald heads due to chemotherapy. Some children are busy writing and have to stop class to go back to their room because of fever, fatigue or to go for treatment. The notebooks were saved, some of them followed their owners back to their hometown to continue studying, and some of the pages stopped writing halfway.
Dr. Tuan said the class is part of the hospital's effort to not only provide physical treatment but also take care of the spiritual life of children. "The hospital is committed to not only being a place to heal diseases but also to always be a second home, protecting the souls of children," he said.
As for Ms. Truong Thi Bich Hanh, Standing Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City, shared her sympathy, saying that sick children need medicine and at the same time need a hand to share, a word of encouragement, a lesson to move on, a teacher to trust and a hope for the future.
"Illness can take children away from school, but it does not take away their right to learn," she confided.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City inaugurated the Reading Room - Psychological Counseling at the Department of Pediatric Oncology, sponsored by Hong Bang International University. The new space is equipped with books, rest areas and a psychological consultation area, helping pediatric patients relieve the pressure of treatment and maintain the rhythm of learning and playing.
