Pham Hoang Son, 12, was brought from an orphanage in Hai Duong province to Canada for treatment in 2007 by the Children’s Bridge Foundation, and he has undergone seven surgery so far in Boston, the US, to reduce the growth of the tumor.

According to Olwan Walter, President of the Children’s Bridge Foundation, who has taken care of Son since his arrival, the operations have helped reduce the tumor size considerably. She said she hoped the doctors would remove 85-90 percent of the tumor so that his face can be back to normal.

The total cost of operations was about US$700,000, of which US$150,000 came from the Ray Tye health foundation in Boston.

Son is currently attending a school in Halifax, Canada’s eastern Nova Scotia province.