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!
I'm Danni, Vaughn's wife.
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.
July update 24 July 2026
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.
Your message will be displayed on the page and emailed to the donor.
Your new message will also be emailed to the donor.
Saving a blank entry will delete the current comment.