Chinese woman who stayed positive despite bone cancer, amputation & family abandonment, dies at 23

A Chinese woman who had been battling bone cancer for five years died in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 27 at the age of 23, according to her close friend.

China Press reported that the woman from China's Hefei province was previously diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 18.

She later shared her story online under the name "Xiaxia", drawing a lot of sympathy and encouragement from her viewers.

According to her friend, Xiaxia passed away in the hospital on Oct. 27.

Her mother, who had not seen her in years, visited her before she passed.

Her friend is currently helping out with the funeral arrangements.

Went through treatment alone

An earlier report mentioned that she underwent six major surgeries, including one that led to her leg being amputated when she was just 19.

Xiaxia did not have family to turn to for support and went through years of treatment and surgeries on her own.

In a video posted on Jan. 15, she said that she had been hospitalised again as her cancer cells had spread to her ribs and pleura, requiring another round of operations.

Abandoned by family

In 2021, Xiaxia first learnt of her illness after she suddenly fainted during her college entrance exams, she explained.

At the time, the doctor she saw told her that she had malignant bone cancer and recommended she go to Beijing for treatment.

However, her parents refused to take her there.

According to Xiaxia, her mother said she was a burden to the family, and her parents did not want to pursue treatment because of the high hospital and medical fees.

A year after she was diagnosed, her mother cut off contact with her, and her father had not visited her once, HK01 reported.

Positive mindset

Despite her circumstances, Xiaxia had continued to display independence and a positive mindset.

She signed off on her own surgical consent forms, saved up money to buy a prosthetic limb for herself, and travelled to different places seeking medical treatment.

When she talked about having to amputate a leg to survive, she said that it was very much worth it to trade a leg for a life.

She had also expressed optimism in entering her age on her Douyin page as "100", signalling that her goal was to live to 100 years old.

"Although doing this alone is truly very tough, I feel very lucky to receive support and encouragement from the media and everyone," she said.