Childhood cancer can be cured when it is detected early and treated fully and promptly. But reaching the end of treatment can take months, sometimes years, and involve multiple treatment cycles. Completing another cycle means passing another milestone and moving one step closer to recovery.
Yet after everything they have endured through the challenges of medical treatment, financial hardship may be what prevents a child from continuing treatment on time: Where will the money for the next cycle of chemotherapy or radiotherapy come from?
The total cost of cancer treatment can reach hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong or more. Beyond the portion covered by health insurance, families must also pay for medicines and other medical expenses, as well as food, accommodation and travel when bringing their child from their hometown to the city. At the same time, household income often falls when parents have to stop working to stay by their child’s side at the hospital.
Through our work with children undergoing cancer treatment, we have met families who have had to borrow money, gradually sell their belongings and find every possible way to earn additional income while caring for their child. Some parents can only tell themselves to take things “one day at a time.” Others have had to delay bringing their child back to the hospital because they could not secure enough money in time, even though timely and complete treatment is critical to a child’s chance of recovery.
During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month 2026, KARE, the childhood cancer program of Vietnam Children’s Fund Social Enterprise, is launching “One Breakfast’s Worth – Feed the Fight. Fund the Treatment.” The campaign invites the community to contribute from VND 30,000 – the cost of an everyday breakfast.
Running from 1–30 September 2026, the campaign aims to support treatment costs for children with cancer from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Donate here: https://vietnamchildrensfund.com/…/one-breakfasts…/
You can also share the campaign or invite a friend, family member, or colleague to contribute.