Former UK student honored for her fight against breast cancer

Thanh Truc, a former student of the University of Manchester, was honored by the British Council for her efforts in fighting breast cancer and actively communicating about the disease.

Trieu Thi Thanh Truc, 34, is one of four winners of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2023-2024 announced by the British Council on March 1 in Hanoi. She was awarded in the Social Impact category.

Truc is a breast cancer patient. Not only fighting the disease, with the knowledge of a Master of Pharmacy, she has shared her story on many forums to raise awareness about cancer. In addition, she is an ambassador of the Vietnam Breast Cancer Network, raising 20,000 USD for the activities of this organization.

Truc (left cover) at the British Council's Study UK Alumni Awards ceremony in Hanoi on the evening of March 1. Photo: BC

Studying abroad in the UK in 2010, after more than four years, Truc obtained her undergraduate and master's degrees in Pharmacy, both from the University of Manchester. She also passed the national exam in the UK to be granted a pharmacist's license.

Truc said that Manchester University is ranked third in the UK for Pharmacy training. Each year, the school only accepts about 200 students to study this major. Through the annual qualifying exams, the number of students is gradually eliminated, until by the time they graduate, there are only about 60-70 people left.

During exam season, the school library is lit all night long. Truc also stayed in the library for a whole week to study. In addition to reading and researching, Truc also went to the hospital to practice as a pharmacist, meeting patients, reviewing medical records, and talking with doctors to measure and manage patients' medication use.

The school aims to raise students’ awareness of responsibility to the community, because the course is related to the health and lives of everyone. The University of Manchester has the Manchester Leadership Programme, which requires students to learn about social issues such as poverty and lack of clean water. They must participate in volunteer activities, from 20 to 60 hours throughout the course. Thanks to this, Truc has broadened her horizons, seeing many ways to contribute to common social issues.

After working in England for a year, Truc returned home and joined a foreign-invested pharmaceutical company. In 2018, she discovered she had breast cancer just after her 28th birthday.

"I was shocked but only cried for two minutes," Truc said.

The former UK student said that many people are afraid to talk about illnesses or body parts, which leads to not detecting the disease in time and losing the opportunity for early treatment. Truc's relatives also did not want her to share her illness for fear of gossip and criticism. However, with her knowledge as a pharmacist, she felt the need to speak up to remove barriers. Truc then joined the Vietnam Breast Cancer Network, actively communicating about this disease.

Truc’s disease was stage 2B, triple-positive cancer, one of the fastest growing types. She was scheduled for surgery, chemotherapy six times, and a year of infusions of special biological drugs. Each time, she usually went to work from Wednesday to Sunday; the other two days she was in the hospital for chemotherapy.

In 2022, she started the Trookies project, baking vegan cakes and donating profits to cancer education programs. That same year, she donated her hair, which she had grown for three years, and participated in activities that inspired many young women.

Last October, Truc ran 3 km in a fundraising event with 5,000 people. She also modeled for a bra brand for breast cancer patients. From being worried, her parents and relatives are now always supportive and proud of her.

Truc (left cover) at the British Council's honoring ceremony in Hanoi on the evening of March 1. Photo: BC

Truc's health is currently quite stable. She plans to continue community education activities, to convey information and correct awareness about cancer to everyone.

2024 is the tenth year the British Council has honored outstanding overseas alumni with the Study UK Alumni Awards. In Vietnam, this award is being held for the fourth time, honoring four faces each year.

According to Ms. Donna McGowan, Director of the British Council in Vietnam, Truc and the champions are all leaders in their fields.

“They have used their education and experience from the UK to achieve great success in their careers, impact their communities and change lives in a positive way,” said Donna.

Dawn

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