Fundraising to save a life

Hi

I’m Marita, writing on behalf of my sister, Lesley Gousmett.

Lesley has lived with Stage IV Colorectal cancer for almost 10 years. She has worked incredibly hard between chemotherapy rounds to stay well, but her oncologist has now advised that her publicly funded options are running out. The next step is Vegzelma (bevacizumab) given privately — a medicine that’s not publicly funded in NZ. Without access to it, Lesley’s options are severely limited and her life expectancy will be shortened.

Lesley’s treatment follows an alternating pattern over 12 cycles:

Odd cycles (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11):

Treatment $2,193 + Vegzelma $471 + required private follow-up consult $290 → $2,954 eachEven cycles (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12):

Treatment $2,193 + Vegzelma $471 → $2,664 each

Total planned treatment cost (incl. GST): $33,708

Contingency (10% for clinic/lab variations, timing shifts, or extra consults): $3,371

To avoid coming up short after platform fees, we’ve set a fundraising goal that includes the 5% Givealittle fee.

Lesley will also contribute as much as she can personally toward these costs. Because of that, if we reach the target of $39,100, any excess will be directed to a dedicated trust we’re setting up to help other cancer patients in Aotearoa facing the same unfunded treatment gap.

Under shared-care arrangements for unfunded medicines, the follow-up consultations must occur in the private clinic where the drug is administered. That adds $290 per required visit on odd cycles.