Patient stories

"Don't assume everything is menopause. If something doesn't feel right, please see your GP and get it checked."

“I just kept on fighting. All I could say to myself was, ‘You’ve got to beat this. You have to do it for your boys.’”

“They said this trial had just started, and that I would be eligible to go on it, but I would need to start very quickly.”

“I knew I had cancer, but it didn’t seem like it was happening to me.”

“20 minutes later, the doctor came back with the results of the blood test and a letter, saying, ‘Take this to the hospital – and I suggest you take an overnight bag.’”

“It wasn’t possible for me to have a stem cell transplant. My haematologist basically said, ‘New Zealand can’t do anything more for you. You need to look at CAR T-cell therapy.’”

“Over the last year, I’ve had a good quality of life. I still exercise almost every day.”

“I was told I had a 40-50% chance of survival. Immediately, my life was in free fall.”

“Going into the stem cell transplant was really daunting. I had no idea what to expect.”

“I remember one time they brought me the dinner I’d ordered, and I looked at it and just started to cry. I wanted it, but I just couldn’t eat.” 

“We were getting up in the night to give her ibuprofen and Pamol, and in the mornings she’d be limping and so tired she’d fall asleep on the couch.”

“Get help if you need it. And even though it’s hard, just try to take it one day at a time.”

“They did an X-ray, and all of a sudden the room was full, and the word cancer was spoken about.”

“I thought, ‘This can’t be right. Cancer – no, not me.’ I just couldn’t believe that I could have cancer.”