Melissa's Battle with Gray-Zone Lymphoma

Mum started her chemotherapy treatment on the 20th of December. The first Christmas she has spent in a hospital. Prior to that, she had a surgery to remove a 7cm malignant tumour on her neck on the 9th of November 2016. She also has a 16cm mass in the mediastinum that's apparently responding very well with chemotherapy. Radiation is yet to follow after chemo cycles are finished.

She has already done 3 cycles, and is being treated at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton. We are from Rotorua, NZ.

We don't normally ask for help, especially financially, but we are really struggling financially and the government can't help us. Insurance has declined mum's claim and has fully cancelled her full life insurance, causing extra stress not only for my mum, but the whole family.

We originally came from Quezon City, Philippines and moved to Rotorua, New Zealand in 2009. We became New Zealand citizens in 2015.

What is Gray-Zone Lymphoma?

GZL, according to dovemed (http://www.dovemed.com/diseases-conditions/gray-zone-lymphoma/), "is a very rare and aggressive lymphoma that is often present as large mass in the mediastinum. "Mediastinum is a division of the thoracic cavity; it contains the heart, thymus gland, portion of the esophagus and trachea and other structures, https://www.britannica.com/science/mediastinum.