Vuthai is an 18-year-old Buddhist monk who started developing a lump on his neck five months ago. Since then, it has grown in size and he says he “feels scared and embarrassed” because the people in his village feel sorry for him.
Luckily, doctors at Children’s Surgical Centre got Vuthai’s biopsy results back, and although the growth is large, it is benign. They still want to perform surgery on Vuthai to remove the growth and prevent any further distress.
Vuthai lives in a small pagoda two hours outside of Cambodia’s capital. Vuthai’s family is very poor, and living in the pagoda allows him to live and eat for free while he’s in school. Out of respect for his family and love for his religion, Vuthai will live there for two years. He looks forward to getting this growth removed so he can go back to focusing on his studies.