Help a young father in his fight against stage 4 cancer

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Raising money to help Vaughn in his fight against stage 4 cancer

Auckland

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Our family was recently blindsided by the news that my husband, Vaughn, has been diagnosed with aggressive stage 4 bowel cancer which at this stage is considered inoperable and thus incurable. As parents of two young children (Nathan age 6 and Zac age 1), we are reeling but focused on getting him the best treatment possible.

A breakthrough combination therapy (Encorafenib and Cetuximab) is now the gold standard for Vaughn’s specific cancer, but these drugs are not currently funded in NZ. We are currently facing two difficult paths:

• Stay in NZ: Paying $10k–$15k per month for private treatment.

• Relocate to Australia: Where these drugs are funded but we face losing family support and incurring huge relocation costs.

We are raising funds to give Vaughn the best chance to be there as his children grow up. Any contribution, no matter the size, helps us focus on his health. Let's help Vaughn kick cancer’s butt!

Danielle Maddock's involvement (page creator)

I'm Danni, Vaughn's wife.

Use of funds

We will use the money to fund treatment (Encorafenib and Cetuximab) and/or travel costs including flights, temporary accommodation while we get a rental sorted, paying upfront rent/bond etc.

Latest update

End of March update 27 March 2026

Posted by: Vaughn Rankin

Hi everyone, I'm cross-posting from facebook so apologies if you've already read this.

I wanted to give an update on how we’ve been going. As of last week, I’ve managed to get my weight back up (from 68kg to over 78kg) and have had my first round of chemotherapy. It went really well and I didn’t have too many bad side effects. It was mostly just fatigue in the evenings and a little bit of anxiety. Most of the side effects were negated by all the medicine I was given.

Other than that, I feel really good, pretty much the same as before all this malarky started. I’ve been able to get some exercise in and resume work. My next chemo session is on the 1st April which will include the start of the unfunded treatment as well.

Dani and I really want to thank everyone for all of the incredible support and donations, which has helped relieve some of the financial burdens we’re facing. We’ve been overwhelmed with how kind and giving people have been. Alongside the donations, we’ve also really appreciated the loving messages, the ready-made dinners, and the help around the house and with the kids. We feel so fortunate to have such a great support system around us. It’s made a huge difference. Thank you so much!

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