Help Yemma Beat the Odds: 50 Years of Giving, Now She Needs Us
Give Yemma access to a safer, more effective cancer treatment, and the chance for a longer life.
Paraparaumu Beach, Paraparaumu
For over five decades, Yemma/Mum/Nonna/Mrs B has been a much-loved school and music teacher, mentor, and supporter of the Kāpiti community, shaping generations of learners with creativity and love.
Now she is facing her toughest challenge yet.
She has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. While this news is devastating, there is hope. A treatment called Daratumumab has shown superior efficacy in every measurable health outcome, including survival length and the reduction of possibly-permanent nerve-damage, which Yemma is already experiencing. Daratumumab is the treatment that will give Yemma a chance for a longer life.
Unlike other treatments, Daratumumab is not funded in New Zealand, which means we need your help.
The cost of this treatment is beyond our reach. Every contribution goes directly toward her medical costs, allowing her to access a drug that is already publicly funded in 49 other countries.
Yemma has spent decades in her various roles at Te Horo School, The Kāpiti Music Centre, and More To Life New Zealand supporting others to live a full and purposeful life. It's now our turn to get behind her with everything we can. We are asking for your financial support to give Yemma, who has given so much time to others, more time to live.
No amount is too small. Please share this page with the thousands of families and friends who Yemma has touched over the years, from New Zealand to the UK, USA, Australia, and Brazil.
Stefan Barsanti's involvement (page creator)
We are Yemma's 4 children: Aaron, Bengy, Stefan, and Bree. We have benefitted from her love, her fierce determination, her contagious enthusiasm, and her willingness to stand up for those who need it. Now we stand up ask for your support of her.
Use of funds
16/02
Funds will also go towards private doctor consultations and private medical expenses.
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This amount will cover Yemma's first 7 months of Daratumumab treatment for multiple myeloma, which is not funded in New Zealand. She will likely need additional rounds, but we are focusing on the first for now. Please click on the link below to learn more.
Other page links
Latest update
Still on the go, just a bit slower 23 March 2026
First, thank you. The love, messages, rides, and check-ins have meant more than we can put into words. It truly takes a community, and you’ve all shown up in the most beautiful ways.
Yem is tolerating the chemotherapy remarkably well, especially considering how strong the treatment is. Her main side effect has been increased fatigue, which has meant she can’t say yes to as many things as she usually would. That’s been tough, because her willingness, her instinct to give her time to those around her, is one of her most inspiring superpowers. Even so, she is still working at the music centre and at More to Life, still showing up for the people she loves, and somehow still finding the time to bring others flowers. That’s just who she is.
We’re including a photo of her during treatment. It has warmed our hearts to see friends and whānau stepping in with rides to Wellington and sitting alongside her during chemo sessions. That companionship has made a real difference.
Her doctors have recently reminded us to be especially mindful of infection risk over the coming weeks. As summer winds down, we kindly ask everyone to think carefully about visiting or coming into work if you’re unwell, for Yem, and for all those who are immunocompromised.
With so much gratitude,
Thank you for being part of her journey
And as always- this is a long road for mum. Please continue to share her story and the page link, as well as talk to your local MP about affordable access to daratumumab.
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