14-year-old Jeng lives in Shan State, Burma, with his grandmother, parents, two uncles, and five siblings. His grandmother is retired, while his parents work on a banana farm. One of his uncles is a subsistence farmer who grows rice, while Jeng, his other uncle and his siblings - except the youngest one who is too young to enroll - are students. His parents' income is just enough for their daily expenses.
In June 2025, Jeng began experiencing frequent nosebleeds from his right nostril. At first, his father would use tissues to pack his nose and stop the bleeding, which resolved the issue temporarily. Later on, Jeng's symptoms worsened; the nosebleeds became recurrent, and could no longer be stopped by packing the nose with tissue. Jeng also felt as though something was blocking his nostril. He visited a local clinic, where the doctor performed a basic physical examination, and recommended that he travel to a major city to seek medical attention. Since Jeng and his family can only speak a bit of Burmese, his father decided against bringing him to a hospital in a larger city in Burma. Instead, through their acquaintance, they went to a hospital in northern Thailand in November 2025. At the hospital, the doctor performed a physical examination, and ordered a Computed Tomography (CT) scan. Jeng was diagnosed with juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in the right nasal cavity. This is a rare, vascular tumor that is non-cancerous, but very aggressive.
Recently, Jeng was brought by his father to our medical partner's care center in Chiang Mai, where the the doctor advised that he would need to undergo another CT scan before planning for surgery. A CT scan is a procedure in which X-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help the doctors confirm Jeng's diagnosis, and formulate an appropriate treatment plan.
Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $469 to cover the cost of Jeng's CT scan, which is scheduled for August 3rd, at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital.
Jeng's father said, “I am exhausted from trying to find treatment for him. I have had to visit many hospitals for his care. I also feel stressed because I am in debt for his treatment, and I feel sad that there is no one to help me. I hope my son can undergo the surgery. I feel really thankful from the bottom of my heart that the donors are willing to help my son’s treatment. Thank you so much for accepting him and supporting his treatment. I hope he can go back to school after the surgery, and I will support whatever he wants to be in the future.”