Three Edmonton sisters are desperately trying to find a stem cell donor for their younger brother.
Bille Nguyen, 25, was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer out of nowhere last December. Initially the plan was to treat him with six rounds of chemotherapy, but that didn’t work.
“That was supposed to put the cancer in remission,” Bille told CTV News. “However, my body is not responding to chemotherapy well. The cancer is too strong for it.”
“Learning not only he had cancer but that it’s not responding to chemo, it was heartbreaking,” his sister Susan said.
So Susan and her other two sisters, Shelly and Tu, launched a campaign to find Bille a donor. Soon, the Nguyens learned how difficult it is to find a match, particularly for people with a diverse heritage.
“Especially in the Asian community, we didn’t know the numbers of people registering is so low,” Susan said. “So it makes the chance for an Asian or anyone of ethnic minorities to find a match very, very low.”
Bille’s sisters organized a swabbing event – the easiest way to determine a stem cell match – at Lemongrass Cafe (104 Street and 51 Avenue) on Sunday, May 6.
What started as a campaign to help their younger brother may end up saving many more lives.
“Not only is raising awareness going to help our brother, but it’s going to help someone else,” Susan said.
With files from Nicole Weisberg
