Top student raises 800,000 yuan after cancer diagnosis

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A young student in east China’s Zhejiang Province who was diagnosed with cancer has recently raised 800,000 yuan (120,000 US dollars) in just three hours after attracting national attention.

18-year-old Zheng Ye had just taken the college entrance examination, known as Gaokao, this summer. He did well on one of the most difficult exams in the country, ranking 141 out of the 306,000 students who took the test this year in the province.

Admitted by the country’s prestigious Zhejiang University, Zheng had been unfortunately diagnosed with leukemia shortly after the exam.

Admission letter from Zhejiang University. /Photo via Qianjiang Evening News

“He has an excellent record all through his education and had ranked first on various tests,” said Tang Shanshan, Zheng’s Chinese literature teacher in high school.

“He was also good at long-distance running and badminton. Plus he won 17th place in a county-level cross-country race. No one can imagine that such an athletic boy would be diagnosed with cancer.”

According to his mother, he had shown symptoms of the disease before the exam. She took him to the hospital and was notified about his abnormal blood index.

She then took him to a provincial hospital for further examination after the entrance exam by way of attending a university’s autonomous enrollment test in Hangzhou City, where he was soon diagnosed with leukemia.

“He had planned to travel with friends and work part-time as a home tutor for fellow students in his high school to support his family expenses. He could have finally taken a rest after Gaokao, but now he could no longer go anywhere,” his cousin said.

Zheng Ye in hospital. /Photo via Qianjiang Evening News

The hospital has suggested that Zheng undergo a bone marrow transplant, which will cost about 1,000,000 yuan (150,000 US dollars).

However, Zheng’s family was already in a precarious financial situation after his father passed away nine years ago from a cerebral aneurysm.

Learning about Zheng’s condition, his father’s former colleague launched an online fundraising campaign with a goal of 800,000 yuan, appealing to charity for the young man’s plight.

His post passed the website’s censorship at 6:07 a.m. on July 26. Soon after its release, Zheng’s story as well as the appeal had gone viral. At 9:31 a.m., the target was reached, hitting the goal in only three hours.

Photo via Qianjiang Evening News

A post about Zheng by China News on China’s social media platform Weibo yesterday garnered over 10,000 comments and 80,000 likes.

“Please hang in there! Your life has just begun!” said user @Wanganshi in a post with 50,000 likes.

“He was truly an elite student at our school and a nice person in nature. I sincerely hope everything will be okay,” said @Beikuiniannuan.

“Bless you! You will get better!” @Shouyoudianjingjun posted.

The vice president of the Chu Kochen Honors College of Zhejiang University paid a visit to Zheng in the hospital, announcing that the institution will help in any way possible.

According to the head of the admissions office, the university could introduce a customized schedule and courses for Zheng, and will also keep the offer valid in case he needs a gap year.

Zheng went through his first chemotherapy session on Saturday. He was accompanied by his mother and relatives.