Like most 16-year-old boys, Mithun Chauhan wants to go to school, play with friends and date his girlfriend. But then, a rare genetic syndrome caused his body to be covered with swollen tumors, making it impossible for him to lead a normal life.

Mithun spends most of his time indoors because his swollen face scares the people around him and they even call him “Ghost Boy”. The 16-year-old boy could not go to school because other children ran away when they saw him.

“Why did the gods punish me like this?”, Mithun said. “My appearance alienates my friends. I can’t go to school or even go to my neighbor’s house to play.”

Mithun ‘s family , who lives in Navada city in India, said tumors spread throughout the boy’s body after a doctor prescribed the wrong medicine to treat a mole when he was 5 years old. The pubic growths covering his face made it difficult for the boy to eat, see and breathe.

Mithun’s illness was only discovered after he was taken to see doctor Ashwini Dash. The boy was diagnosed with neurofibroma, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow along nerves throughout the body.

There are about 33,000 people around the world diagnosed with neurofibroma and there is no treatment for this disease. But doctors in India believe they can cure Mithun.

“The surgery will be performed in stages and will cost at least 300,000 rupees (equivalent to 100 million VND),” said an anonymous doctor.