Feature: South Sudan family mightily relieved to get treatment from Chinese doctors

JUBA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The tenth batch of the Chinese medical team in South Sudan has helped put a smile on a family which had endured setbacks while in search of medical treatment for hitherto unknown medical conditions afflicting the head of the household.

Chaplain Juma Lubang, 62, developed a rare cancerous tumor known as seminoma on the left side of his testicles which had gone undetected for years despite several referrals to private and public hospitals in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Seminoma is a slow-growing type of testicular cancer that primarily affects people in their 40s or 50s.

"My father's condition started to deteriorate in 2013, I saw the testicle having small swelling and I took him to a private hospital where they never checked him but instead told me he was suffering from a hernia," said his son Openi Woja Chaplain Juma, explaining that the swelling and pain continued until December 2022, forcing his family to seek treatment from the Juba military hospital where the doctors also diagnosed his father for a hernia.

This made Woja resort to the last option of meeting the Chinese medical team in Juba Teaching Hospital which is no small feat since the team is always busy handling all sorts of patients with varying medical conditions on a weekly basis.

"In January, we came to Juba Teaching Hospital and we found doctor Peng Chunwei and his team and showed him all the medical checkups done by the Juba military hospital, after Peng checked the medical form he sent us to do a testicle scan, and when we brought back the medical form he told us this was not a hernia but tumor," said Woja.

Peng Chunwei, the surgeon with the China medical team, advised Woja to take his father Lubang for testing using an ultrasound machine whose results found testicular seminoma on the left side of the testicles and hydrocele on the right side. Hydrocele refers to a fluid collection surrounding the testicles and is usually benign.

"He (Doctor Peng) told us the solution is to remove one of the testicles, and then after that, my father needs to take medication which is not available in South Sudan," said Woja.

On Monday, Peng led a team of Chinese medical workers to conduct an operation on Lubang. The operation was a success and they removed a tumor from the left side of Lubang's testicles. Peng said the patient would need further tests and examination to help with his medication.

"After the operation maybe we need to do radiation therapy or chemotherapy, but as of now we can only do the operation due to a lack of equipment and chemical drugs for chemotherapy, so we suggest he goes outside the country for radiation therapy or chemotherapy," said Peng.

According to Peng, this was the first time this kind of operation was conducted at the Juba Teaching Hospital. "If we have the ability we want to do our best to help South Sudanese people solve these kinds of problems because patients with these kinds of problems often seek treatment outside South Sudan," said Peng.

He added that they are willing to train the South Sudanese medical team on how to carry out such complex operations.