Help Nic keep living!
Helping fund a drug not funded by Pharmac to give our friend a chance to keep living
Hamilton, Waikato
Nic is a 55 year old Waikato woman diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma late 2019 at the age of 49.
We want to help her keep living! By helping fund Daratumamab at $133,000 per year which is not publicly funded by Pharmac.
Multiple Myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer in NZ, affecting about 3000 people at any one point, and 400 new cases per annum.
Myeloma is incurable; treatment aims to manage the disease for hopefully several years or more.
Nic had a succesful stem cell transplant in February 2020 and was in remission until June 2023.
She joined a clinical trial in October 2023, however her cancer has now become resistant to this drug and she stopped this in December 2024.
Daratumamab is the standard care for myeloma; it’s funded in 43 other countries, and many people and organisations in NZ (e.g. Myeloma NZ and Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ) have been advocating for its funding to Pharmac for more than 8 years.
If the drug is effective after the first year Nic will need to keep paying for the drug.
All the treatment Nic is receiving aims to put the cancer into remission for longer.
Nic has been fit and active her whole life but has medically retired in February 2024 due to cancer treatment effects.
Nic would like to keep living ! She’d love to be able to
• socialise more with friends and family
• return to cycling
• garden again and plant more native trees on her property and others.
• go on an archaeological dig
• undertake part-time volunteer work
Vera Champion's involvement (page creator)
We’ve been friends for over 15 years having met at work. We connected over food, coffee, conversations and gardening (that’s definitely more Nic than me!)
Use of funds
Funding a cancer drug Daratumamab and associated travel and other costs.
Latest update
Wingspan and remission still going gangbusters 8 August 2025
Hi everyone, going gangbusters in remission.. here's a pic from a visit this week on the way to Rotorua for treatment to Wingspan - and yes it was a bit chilly on Tuesday.. Did the 'meet and greet' with Arohaki a male Karearea. very cool and an amazing rehab place for karearea, ruru and others!! Hope winter is treating you all well.. :-)
Latest donations
Hiya Jan, gee thank you so much for your support. very humbled.tried on the phone today but Karrin said you had a busy day ahead..will try again tomorrow. hope things went well.!! Nic
Hey Chris .. how are you, the fam and Welly? sorry it's taken me some time to reply and say thank you so much.. haven't made it to Welly since I last saw ya/talked to ya. hopefully in the near future.. I have asked my body to sort itself out and that I have run out of patience with it. blood results today are much improved. maybe it listened? ha!!
still got some fight.. let's see how the body responds !!! thanks gill. really appreciate it. looking at Israel for immunotherapy believe it or not.
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