Kimberley’s life-changing diagnosis
In 2024, Kimberley had just begun her OE. After travelling around Europe with her boyfriend, she settled in London and was excited to start her new job. Then a blood cancer diagnosis changed everything.
Just four months after arriving in London, Kimberley started to feel unwell. She was constantly exhausted and had a cough that wouldn’t go away. When a pharmacist suggested she ask for a chest X-ray, Kimberley had no idea how serious things were.
The X-ray immediately showed that something wasn’t right, and further tests revealed a large mass between Kimberley’s lungs.
“We had to do more testing in London, because they wouldn’t let us fly to New Zealand,” she recalls.
Finally, after a terrifying month of investigations, she was allowed to return home.
Back in Auckland, Kimberley was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and began chemotherapy straight away. At first, the treatment seemed to be working. But after another two rounds, she received devastating news: the cancer was growing again.
Kimberley would need a stem cell transplant.
“Going into that was really daunting,” Kimberley says. “I had no idea what to expect.”
At one of the hardest moments of her life, Kimberley found support through Blood Cancer NZ.
Rachel from Blood Cancer NZ’s Support Services team helped her to understand what lay ahead.
“She connected me with a guy who’d been through a transplant a few years ago,” Kimberley says. At a time when everything felt unknown, that connection gave Kimberley reassurance and helped her feel less alone.
During her hospital stay, Kimberley also found comfort in a weekly Blood Cancer NZ support group on the ward.
“It was something to look forward to,” she recalls. “We’d get coffee and just talk. It was great to meet other patients.”
When Kimberley’s immune system became too weak for her to attend, Rachel visited her instead. That support helped Kimberley get through one of the most challenging experiences of her life.
Today, Kimberley is focused on rebuilding her health – and, for the first time in a long time, she’s able to start thinking about what’s next.
Whatever the future holds, Kimberley knows she doesn’t have to face it alone. Blood Cancer NZ is there for patients like Kimberley and their whānau every step of the way.
