A Repeating Student Diagnosed with Cancer Before the College Entrance Exam... Hospital Steps Up Actively

Diagnosis of Blood Tumor 'Jonggyeokdong Lymphoma'
Head Nurse Prepares Exam Venue for Students
"If I Can't Take the Exam, I Feel Like I'll Lose Hope"

Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital prepared a special room where Ga-eun (alias), who was diagnosed with blood cancer two days before the CSAT, could take the exam. Photo by Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

A student retaking the college entrance exam was diagnosed with blood cancer just two days before the test, making it difficult to take the exam. The hospital stepped up to help, and the story has come to light.

According to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of the Catholic University on the 14th, Ga-eun (a pseudonym), who had been healthy, started coughing uncontrollably recently and visited a local clinic, where she was advised that she needed to see a larger hospital. Upon visiting Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and undergoing imaging tests, a tumor was found in the mediastinum, the space between both lungs. A subsequent biopsy diagnosed her with mediastinal lymphoma. Lymphoma is the most common blood tumor in Korea, characterized by malignant transformation of lymphocytes in lymphatic tissue.

Ga-eun had a strong interest in foreign languages such as English and Spanish and wished to enter a university specialized in these fields. After graduating high school, she had been preparing for the college entrance exam for an additional year. However, due to the risk of infection, it was practically impossible for her to travel from her home in Gyeongsangnam-do to Seoul, where the hospital is located, and then to the exam site in one day.

Upon hearing this story, head nurse Yoon Sun-hee consulted related departments and decided to prepare a testing site for Ga-eun. The guardian's words, "If she can't take the exam, she will lose hope, so it would be good if she could at least take the test as she wishes," stayed with her. She recalled that a few years ago, a patient had taken the college entrance exam at the hospital. In fact, in 2021, a patient diagnosed with aplastic anemia a week before the exam took the test in a special room after coordination with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Although the schedule was much tighter than three years ago, the hospital began preparing the exam site to meet the education office's requirements. They arranged a private hospital room on the 21st floor for Ga-eun to take the exam, along with a conference room and lounge for proctors to prepare and wait, and proceeded with administrative procedures. The medical staff coordinated the schedule so that Ga-eun could receive treatment immediately after the exam. Since chemotherapy could physically exhaust her, they made every effort to maintain her in the best possible health until the exam. Professor Min Ki-jun, Ga-eun's hematology attending physician, encouraged her, saying, "I hope she completes treatment well after the exam and becomes a healthy freshman at her desired university."

Ga-eun's mother expressed gratitude, saying, "Thanks to the medical staff who cared for my child's future and the hospital's active support, she was able to take the college entrance exam," and added, "I hope she recovers healthily after treatment and enters the school she wishes." Ga-eun said, "I have always lived each moment faithfully with the mindset of 'If you can't avoid it, enjoy it,'" and added, "The thing I want to do most after entering university is to attend a performance at the festival."