Live Roundups Editor's Desk Insights Executive Ops Weather About 🔍
Home › Health › Retired Chinese woman cares for cancer-stricken...
Health

Retired Chinese woman cares for cancer-stricken ex-colleague for a decade, defying gossip

Retired Chinese woman cares for cancer-stricken ex-colleague for a decade, defying gossip
South China Morning Post Thursday 12 November 2026, 10:00 UTC By Zoey Zhang 1 min read
Key Points

A retired woman in eastern China has spent 14 years caring for a former colleague with cancer, brushing off gossip to stand by him. According to Jinan Daily, the story began in 2012, when Zhang Ji, now 76, reconnected with her former supervisor, Zhang Hongquan, after years without contact. Widowed, estranged from his adult children and battling rectal cancer, the 82-year-old was living in squalid conditions in a flat in Jinan, Shandong province.

A retired woman in eastern China has spent 14 years caring for a former colleague with cancer, brushing off gossip to stand by him. According to Jinan Daily, the story began in 2012, when Zhang Ji, now 76, reconnected with her former supervisor, Zhang Hongquan, after years without contact. Widowed, estranged from his adult children and battling rectal cancer, the 82-year-old was living in squalid conditions in a flat in Jinan, Shandong province. The illness had left his left leg blackened and...
Chinese (ORG) China (LOCATION) Jinan Daily (ORG) Zhang Ji (PERSON) Zhang Hongquan (PERSON) Jinan (LOCATION) Shandong province (LOCATION)
Originally published by South China Morning Post Read original →

Related Stories

‘Like priests who don’t believe in God’: Italy’s anti-vax medics eye return to frontline duty

Progress of bill to reinstate struck-off doctors hinged on support from far right figure Roberto Vannacci, whose rise is shaping politics before 2027 electionsAntonio Cremasco contracted Covid at a dinner party on 6 March 2020. Four days later, as Italy became the first European country to go into nationwide lockdown, he was fighting for his life. “I spent 20 days in intensive care, followed by another 20 days in a hospital ward,” said Cremasco, from Bassano del Grappa in the northern...

The Guardian World 12m ago

Recent cybersecurity incidents involving 6 healthcare entities did not disrupt patient care: MOH

Recent cybersecurity incidents involving 6 healthcare entities did not disrupt patient care: MOH There is no evidence so far that patient safety and care have been compromised, the Ministry of Health said. SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is taking the recent spate of cybersecurity incidents across the healthcare sector very seriously, it said on Thursday (Nov 12).

Channel News Asia 29m ago

The country where diabetes is more feared than HIV

Low income nations like Eswatini are ill prepared to cope with the rising tide of chronic diseases

The Telegraph 32m ago

New Covid variant spreads from Canada to US, Europe & Asia: What we know about PJ.2.1

A newly identified Covid-19 variant, PJ.2.1, is spreading across multiple countries after emerging in Canada in May 2026. Researchers have found that the variant may have an increased ability to infect human cells, including those with low levels of the ACE2 receptor. However, early laboratory findings suggest it does not significantly evade antibodies produced by existing Covid-19 vaccines.

Times of India 37m ago