Help make sure no one faces cancer alone
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Every 20 minutes a New Zealander hears the words ‘You have cancer’.
Although survival rates have significantly improved in the past 30 years, devastatingly, cancer remains the single biggest cause of death for New Zealanders, claiming the lives of over 10,000 Kiwis every year.
When Darlene and her husband James found out his cancer had come back and was now terminal, telling their three children was incredibly difficult.
“That was the roughest. Because they don’t know what you know, I said something like, we’re not okay but we’ll be okay.
That was the hardest of the whole journey. That’s the moment I hated the most.”
Losing a loved one to cancer is a heartbreaking journey that no family should face alone. With your gift today, you can help lighten the immense burden of cancer by providing practical and emotional support that patients and their families desperately need.
Two years earlier, Darlene and James’s world was first shaken. They were high school sweethearts enjoying a simple life with their three children - Xavier (16), Georgia (14) and Nathaniel (11). Until in June 2021, everything changed when James was diagnosed with bile duct cancer.
“I was in emotional shock when we found out. I googled it and I think the first thing I saw was a 5-7% chance of a 5-year survival.”
James and Darlene held onto a small piece of hope - James was eligible for surgery.
“The surgery was massive… it was like 11 or 12 hours and then 10 days of recovery during which I stayed in Cancer Society’s Domain Lodge which was a fantastic place. The facilities, the staff and even the cleaners were really amazing…
…James also used the [free Cancer Society] transport because he had to go and get his stent changed… All of those little things make a world of difference.”
Devastatingly, on the 7th of January 2023, James passed away from his cancer.
To lose James, a beloved husband and father of three, at just 48 years old is an utter tragedy. We simply must push forward and continue investing in groundbreaking cancer research and more effective cancer treatments to save lives. Because tragedies like James’s are unbearable.
Today, I’m asking for your help. Together we can make sure essential cancer support like accommodation and transport remains free and accessible to every New Zealander facing the immense burden of cancer. And we can ensure life-saving research continues, to protect future generations from the heartbreak of cancer.
“If you are thinking about supporting, definitely just do it.
The government does not have the services available for cancer and so the Cancer Society is filling a gap that is so important, it’s so important.”
Please make your special gift today.
Thank you for caring about Kiwis facing cancer. Because of you, no one has to face the toughest days of their life alone.
