Top News

Hairy black moles blight nine-year-old girl's life

By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-18 06:48

CHANGCHUN: A mysterious condition is blighting the life of a nine-year-old girl in Jilin Province and has left her parents in debt.

Cheng Junjie has hairy black moles covering 20 per cent of her skin and other youngsters don't want to play with her.

The skin of her left arm and hand was black with the moles when she was born.

But now different sized moles have spread to her face, neck, back and legs and there are fears she could eventually succumb to cancer. Now the muscle of the girl's left arm is said to be withering.

Wang Guiju, the girl's mother, said: "She often says she dreams of being fair. She is a lively child, but no children like to play with her."

The girl always covers up her moles when she goes outside.

A local newspaper in Changchun, the City Evening News, has called for donations or medical treatment to help her.

Experts at the No 2 Hospital affiliated to Jilin University, where Cheng is hospitalized, said yesterday the condition not contagious may be because of a growth disorder of certain cells.

But they do not know how to treat the girl.

"It is the first time I have seen this kind of condition, which is rare in the world," said Li Fuqiu, director of the department of dermatology.

Li said one way of curing the girl was to do a skin transplant but it was difficult to find such a large area of skin.

"The abnormal skin may continue to spread to other parts of her body and may lead to fatal cancer," he warned.

Some doctors believe the moles can be eliminated with lasers, but there are problems in treating techniques and astronomical medical fees.

Local residents have offered cash donations and even some old-fashioned remedies.

The City Evening News paid for the family to travel from their hometown of Baishan to Changchun and also paid for medical checks.

The girl's parents, who make a living doing odd jobs, have spent all their money on trying to help their daughter. They have sold everything, including their house, but still owe more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,500).

(China Daily 08/18/2006 page3)