Funds for cancer treatment

My name is Tom Kitten. I live with my human guardians, Mike and Terre Nicholson, and my two sisters, Moppet and Mittens. My guardians fostered me, along with my 3 brothers and 2 sisters and my mom. I am a special needs kitty, with a bad eye. My guardians were told I would need special care for life, so they kept me. They were afraid I would be lonely, so they kept my sisters too.

Terre has advanced breast cancer. There is no cure, only the hope of progression free survival with a good quality of life. She been progression free for 6 years, which as been wonderful. However, the cancer is back in my hips, spine, and shoulder. The current treatment she is on is failing and there are very few funded options for her.

The best treatment for her is a CDK4/6 medication. The most common one is Ibrance, which is likely to help her live several years longer with progression free survival. This means she can live longer, continue to work to support me and my sisters, contribute to society, and be here for her family and friends. Not to mention the other rescued cats I live with - Frida, Turbo, Nitro, Jet, and Priscilla.

Unfortunately, Ibrance is not funded by the New Zealand government or covered by insurance, nor are any other CDK4/6 meds. The cost is on the order of $6000 per month. The good news is that once Terre has had 11 Ibrance treatments, the remaining ones are free. It is also recommended that Ibrance be taken with Faslodex, another unfunded drug that costs about $1000 per month. The Faslodex cost continues until the Ibrance stops working.

For the past 18 months, Terre has been campaigning hard (along with others) asking PHARMAC and the government to give people better cancer drugs and fund these medications. However, while they've made some progress, it's not likely that anything will change for at least a year. That will be too late for Terre, so I've started this give a little page for her. She's worked in paid employment since she was 13 and has never asked for a hand out - she's usually the one donating to worthy causes! So it's hard for her to ask for money. But this is a matter of life and death for her, so I'm asking you to please consider a contribution and sharing this page. Can you give up a coffee to help save Terre?

Thank you!