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Help a young father in his fight against stage 4 cancer

$48,760 donated
Given by 257 generous donors in around 5 months

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

Auckland

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.

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Latest update

July update  24 July 2026

Posted by: Vaughn Rankin

Hi everyone, just sending an update for this month.

My latest CT scan was very promising. The cancer has shrunk to the point where it's no longer visable in the scan, although it is still there, just a lot smaller. It’s a better result then we were expecting and most likely due to the unfunded treatment from the Breakwater Trial that was done last year. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, which has allowed us to pay for this treatment.

My oncologist has told me that if the chemo continues to manage the cancer for a year then I will be able to get HIPEC surgery, which is a really intense surgery but is my best chance of getting cured. So hopefully I'll be able to get that in March next year. It seems like such a long time to wait, but this year has already gone very quickly.

One difficulty we've had recently is the Thursday before last, I caught a gastro virus which was going around Zacs daycare. Due to my low immunity I ended up in the hospital for a week! I was released on Monday and am feeling much better now. Due to this, my treatments have been delayed a week so my next session will be next Wednesday.

This year has been difficult, but Dani and I have found comfort in all the support we've been getting. Thank you to those who have been visiting us and helping us in various ways from donating money and bringing us food to helping with the kids and even just checking in on us. We really appreciate it.

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2% Effective Fee
On average, fundraisers pay just 2% to use Givealittle. This is one of the lowest effective fees in New Zealand fundraising. We charge a 5% platform fee to cover the cost of running the platform. Because most donors choose to top up their donation to cover this fee, the effective cost paid by fundraisers is about 2%. That means around 98 cents of every dollar raised goes to the cause. Learn More

Latest donations

Chris & Shirley Ayers
Chris & Shirley Ayers 1 hour ago
$200
Sally
Sally 15 hours ago
Wonderful to know you have the prayerful and financial support of family and friends at this time. We’ve never had the privilege of meeting you yet - but pray for strength and good outcomes.
Private
R
R 2 days ago
Get well soon Vaughn
Private
Kat
Kat on 21 Jul 2026
From Kat Monien (Central Engineer, Planit) - FIFA Sweepstake Winnings
$40
Donna
Donna on 20 Jul 2026
From Donna Wiltshire (Director of Employee Experience, Planit) - FIFA Sweepstake Winnings
$10

Who's involved?

Danielle Maddock's avatar
Created by Danielle Maddock
Vaughn Rankin's avatar
Paying to a verified bank account of Vaughn Rankin
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This campaign started on 12 Mar 2026 and ends on 9 Mar 2027.