Elyse Guise’s little daughter Nora was the 1 in 3.
Nora was five when she was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in August 2018.
Despite surgeries and chemotherapy in New Zealand, devastatingly, the cancer spread. So when a trial for CAR T-cell therapy became available in the US, the family fundraised $200,000 for Nora to take part in late 2019.
Initial tests showed the T-cells were working, but weeks after returning home, they found out the treatment had failed. They were heartbroken.
Elyse asked the oncologist, “How long have we got?” and he thought 6–12 months. But the family only got two precious weeks.
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“Those last couple of weeks we had with Nora are my favourite… We were absolutely ragged, but we just filled up her life with a lot of joy.”
Nora passed away in February 2020, ten days short of her seventh birthday. Each year, the Guise family celebrates her birthday with cake, balloons, glitter, and her favourite songs.
Earlier this year, Elyse began working for the Cancer Society as Community Coordinator, where she lives with her husband Rohan, daughter Thea, and their three dogs.
Elyse says it means so much knowing the Cancer Society is there for families going through cancer.
“It’s not just surface level… It’s those deep conversations… all those connecting services. It’s not this quiet journey you have to do alone.”
Having seen support from both sides, she wants people to know every dollar donated “goes far and is well-received”.
She’s especially passionate about funding research.
“We are a small country, but we are pretty mighty in the things we can do.”