XITONG ZHANG

"As a high school student, I happened to come across the stories of patients with rare diseases in documentaries: some were misdiagnosed for years due to the rarity of their diseases, some were in a desperate situation because of the sky-high prices of "orphan drugs", and even more so, some could only silently endure their pain because of others' lack of understanding. The sufferings of these "niche" groups should not be ignored by the general public. I began to collect information in my spare time and learned about many patient cases and the predicaments they were facing. I want more students to know that rare diseases are not distant terms but real predicaments. For every additional person who understands, there may be an extra bit of help, allowing patients to no longer fight against the "rare" loneliness alone."