Cure for Millie

Millie Smith is 37 years old. She is a sister, a daughter, a wife, a primary school teacher and she has terminal kidney cancer. It’s a rare cancer, and made rarer by Millie’s gender, the fact she has never smoked, and the fact she’s young and healthy. In November 2015, after a 5 year battle with this horrid disease, Millie was told she was terminal. Since then, there’s been surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and more hospital visits than Millie cares to think about.

When diagnosed with terminal cancer, Millie didn’t give up! She carried on teaching, and started to tick off her bucket list. She got fit and completed the challenging Coast to Coast race, and ran half marathons. Throughout chemo side effects, tumours being drained and multiple health complications, she’s been fighting for her life, fighting for the right to live her life as normal as possible. Giving up has never been an option.

2 years ago Pharmac approved an immunotherapy drug called Pembrolizumab, (Keytruda). Unfortunately Pharmac only agreed to fund this life-saving drug for all non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma. With latest case studies showing promising results with her own cancer, Millie applied for compassionate consideration, only to be rejected by Pharmac. But when there is hope you have to try so we need your help to fund it!

The treatment costs a lot. Approximately $80,000. That’s a lot of money. We need money, because money buys us Keytruda, and Keytruda is hope. Hope that Millie will live. Hope that she can continue to do what she loves, and teach. Hope that her and her husband can grow old together, share a lifetime of love.

So, here is what we need from you.

We challenge you.

Give up buying coffee for a week, and donate that $25 to Millie. For you, it starts your day, but for Millie, it starts the fight for her life.

Give up a bottle of wine a week, and donate that $50 to Millie. It might get you through the week, but that $50 might get Millie to get through to her next birthday.

Give up a dinner out, and donate $100 to Millie. You might have a good night out, but Millie wants the rest of her life.

It’s not much for you, $25. But for us, for Millie, it’s everything. Thank you for helping.

Follow Millie's story and other fundraising events on

https://www.facebook.com/Cure-for-Millie-600515226949747/