A British teacher is facing a costly battle with cancer while under strict lockdown in China.
Matty Read, 26, from Liverpool, moved to Luoyang with his girlfriend Lucy Edge in August 2021 in the hope the money they earned from teaching English could help towards a deposit on a house.
But the couple found themselves under strict lockdown due to an increase in the number of people with Covid-19.
They were dealt another cruel blow in September when Read was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma - a cancer of the lymph nodes that mostly affects people aged between 20 and 40.
Read’s hopes of earning money for a house have been dashed and he now finds himself with serious financial issues as his medical insurance does not cover treatment of the uncommon cancer, reports the Liverpool Echo
A fundraiser has been set up by his friend Rob Schenck that aims to raise £10,000 for his treatment. As of Saturday, 10 December, the gofundme campaign has raised £9,425.
On the page, Schenck said: “I myself was diagnosed with testicular cancer in May of this year, and have been extremely lucky enough to benefit from the free and wonderful care and chemotherapy treatment that the NHS provides, but Matty hasn’t been so lucky.”
Read’s mother Nicola, 53, said: “It has been horrendous. It’s been very stressful for him and the family, not being able to hold him, reassure him and say to him ‘you’ll be OK.’
"You can FaceTime, but it’s not the same as having him home.”
She added: “Matty and his girlfriend were going out there to teach English to Chinese children, so before they could go they had to have full medicals, and everything was fine. .
"They originally went because they wanted to be able to come back with a chunk of savings to put a deposit down on a house.
“They decided to stay on another six month contract and had another medical in August 2022 to cover them for the next six months, and everything was fine - strangely enough.
"But then [in] early September Matty woke up with a pain in his neck and there was a lump.
“His manager took him to the doctors, they did a scan and they found a couple of swollen lymph nodes. They did a biopsy and three days later, that’s when they got the results.
"As you can imagine, him calling me from China and having to tell me that was horrendous.
According to the NHS, around 2,100 people are diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in the UK every year.
Read has faced a struggle to attend his chemotherapy sessions as his apartment complex had been put into strict lockdown.
China recently pursued a relentless zero-Covid strategy that placed restrictions on people’s movements around the country. Elements of the strategy have been eased following massive protests across the country.
Nicola said: “It has been a nightmare for them because they have been getting locked in the building, unable to get out or even get food and water. The caretaker who looks after the building is the only one who has been able to go out.
“There have been people who have jumped from apartment blocks. It doesn’t bear thinking about. It’s very stressful. That’s where we’re at at the moment.
“He’s halfway through his treatment and he’s having to pay for it because with everything being fine on his medicals, the insurance doesn’t cover it.
"I said if that’s the cost, so be it. We would go to any length. He’s been told that his prognosis is good.”
Nicola added: “Matty has not been lucky. He had a blood clot when he was 21 and was in hospital for his 21st birthday, and had to have a rib removed.
"He’s not had it easy, but I love how he remains positive through everything. He’s been through a lot, but he’s got through a lot.”
