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Our friend Jen - stage 4 breast cancer treatment for a single Mum and wildlife advocate.

  • October Update 🌱🌻☀️💕🐸🌼🏵️

      22 October 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Firstly, thank you all for your support! I've been really fatigued so don't have the energy to respond to all your messages but I do read them all! And your help to allow me to do this unfunded chemo, buy me time with my kids and life, and take off the financial stress - there are no words to say how grateful I am 💕

    Medical update...been working with the hospital team to adjust the MANY meds I take alongside chemo (steroids, anti nausea meds, antihistamines, pain killers...) as the side effects were huge. Finally at a point where life seems doable. Fatigue, weight gain from steroids, pain but not chronic and constant....and not the horrible intense gut issues that plagued me for the first 6+ weeks of this new chemo.

    On week 8 of Trodelvy chemo now, and life is getting into a quiet routine. Hospital/specialist appointments, work at DOC half days most days (tried to do some island froggy fieldwork but got sick and had to advise from afar), gardening (a toned down version of my former craziness!), riding my "new" secondhand ebike around town with the boys, dog walks & paddles with friends, BBQs outside with warmer weather, making Christmas plans with my sister who's coming to visit with her family from the USA... One of the gifts of cancer was that it forced me to slow down, to cut things out of my life that caused stress/I didn't need. To be grateful for all the little moments, for all the amazing people in my life and for time, one of the most amazing gifts of all 💕

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  • Hair and other things....

      29 September 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Currently into cycle two for Trodelvy. Going in for my second dose of this cycle tomorrow. The first cycle was hard- probably five good days out of three weeks. I was pretty sick. But slowly adjusting the meds that help manage the chemo side effects - it's a work in progress. Let's just say that I spent two weeks not being able to go very far from a toilet 🤣 not really how I want to live life. Plus a bit painful and I blacked out at some point and woke up on the floor after being unconscious and home alone..... So up and up. This cycle isn't quite as traumatic. But still room for improvement. Luckily I have lots of amazing friends helping with meals and kids when I need it.

    My hair has all started to fall out. The lovely Sonja from Renaissance Hair shaved it off for me yesterday which has helped significantly with the mess - clumps of hair everywhere before that. At least the buzz cut means I won't clog up the vacuum 🙂

    And Logan turned 10 years old!!! Nothing like cancer to make you realize how precious every birthday is and this was such a lovely one. Cake and soccer, bike park, playgrounds... It was the most amazing day with the boys and Eva and Tui - Logan's best friend. My little boys are growing up and I'm so very grateful to see what amazing humans they are turning into.

    As always thank you all for your support, messages, help, prayers and best wishes!!!

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  • First dose of Trodelvy chemo done!

      2 September 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart. I've been absolutely blown away by all the generosity from family, friends and people I don't even know to try this new chemo drug Trodelvy sacituzumab govitocan in the private hospital to hopefully buy extra time to stay alive!

    Thank you for all the messages - on Give a Little, Facebook, email and text. I may not have responded to each of you but I have read them all and I feel so loved.

    These last few weeks have been so busy and such a mix of emotions. Radiation treatment and tests in Christchurch hospital. Friends helping me tidy up my garden and orchard and swap seeds for spring. Beautiful paddles with my good friend Moira - seals playing right around our SUPs. Time with the boys to bake, get Logan sorted with a "new" used MTB for his birthday, enrolling Noah for college/high school, a concert with kids before I have to avoid crowds when I'm immunocompromised, time with friends...all the things that fill my bucket and make me happy and balance the stress of heading back into treatment.

    Today I started. Dose one finished. Sad to leave the amazing staff, familiarity of place and routines at public hospital. But St George's is lovely. The nurses are so sweet and the sandwiches are much better there 😂 From the chemo chairs, I can see trees and mountains in the distance.

    Now I just have to hope that the ten pills I took this morning is enough to keep the chemo side effects to a minimum 🤞🏻😊 💕

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  • For our supporters in the USA - US $ to NZ $

      30 August 2026

    Kia Ora (hello) all to of Jen's supporters in the states.

    I had a very helpful email from one of Jen's family (whānau) members this morning, to remind you all that the sum being aimed for on this page is NZD, not USD.

    For those wanting to make a contribution for the equivalent of their own currency outside the US and you aren't sure what will go to Jen; I would go on to a conversion website (I use XE.com), type in my amount, and see what the difference is.

    for example, when I typed in $150,000 NZD to USD today, the amount came up as $88,700.25 USD.

    I hope this is helpful for your contributions :) Ngā mihi (thank you for your efforts!) Em

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    • 31/08/2026 by Michelle F

      Super helpful! Thank you for the explanation. I am in the US and this is great guidance.

  • well on the way to 40k

      28 August 2026

    Thank you everyone! another amazing week of sharing, donating, and messages from you all. Thank you thank you thank you.

    Today is daffodil day - the cancer society big fundraiser. for Jen and her family, this day will be very poignant - as it will be for all of those that have been affected by cancer.

    On behalf of Jen and her family, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you. It really is overwhelming to see the love and support - those that have met Jen, and those that have not.

    Please continue to share share share this page. We have made such a huge gain - Lets keep things moving - you amazing people.

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  • Thank You Everyone :)

      25 August 2026

    Wow!

    So, I have had notifications coming thick and fast with donation receipts - you are all just incredible.

    In the space of just over a week, you have raised around $17,000 (maths is not a strong point, but I think that is a good ball park!)

    That is over $30,000 total.

    Incredible.

    $150,000 is a lot of money - and a lot of money to access this type of treatment - one that is standard in many other countries, but not in New Zealand.

    With your donations and your sharing of both this page and social media posts, there is a fighting chance we can do it, despite this massive financial hurdle.

    Let's smash it out!

    Share share share this post, let's keep momentum going.

    Jen headed down to CHCH this week for Radiology with all of you on her mind, and a heck of a lot of gratitude - so, thank you each and every one of you!

    Em.

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  • double wow!

      19 August 2026

    73 Donations since Sunday. that's 73 donations in around 72 hours. Absolutely incredible effort, everyone - and on behalf of Jen - a massive thank you.

    If you have donated and are reading this message - please SHARE this page on social media, with friends or family, or any place that you think would be interested - and tell them to pass it on, too! If we can keep momentum going - we CAN do this.

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  • WOW

      17 August 2026

    Kia Ora Everyone - I just wanted to say to everyone who joined a MASSIVE donation effort last night - you are AMAZING. I have a post on my Facebook page (Emma Matthews) that is public and ready to share across social media. If you are able to share this, that would be incredible. If we can manage around $8000 OVERNIGHT - imagine what we can do in a few days!

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  • Next steps, self-funding chemo at private hospital

      16 August 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    I had a CT scan a couple of weeks ago. While the cancer hasn’t spread, unfortunately some of my existing tumours have started growing again. I was hoping for a long break from treatment, but sadly that’s not to be.

    Tomorrow I head to Christchurch for a bone scan and radiation treatment to my hip, which I’m hoping will help with some of the chronic pain. Then, in a couple of weeks, I’ll be starting chemo again — indefinitely.

    Unfortunately, the best treatment options for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer aren’t funded through the NZ public health system. So I’ll be transferring to a private hospital and self-funding a drug called Trodelvy, at a cost of around $150,000 for the first year.

    This part makes me incredibly sad. I’ve received amazing care from the doctors and nurses in the public system, and I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done for me. But the gaps and underfunding in our healthcare system have become painfully real. Treatment that would be a standard option overseas simply isn’t available to people like me here.

    So I'm looking at using whatever funds I have and have already had some offers of help from amazing family and friends to buy some more time with my boys ❤️ I've spent the last few weeks trying to find a better option but I guess this is what cancer care comes down to here, Give A Little pages and hope... 🤞🏻🍀💕 At least I have the opportunity to try and I'm so very grateful for that.

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  • Jen's treatment cost

      16 August 2026

    in light of Jen's update, the target is now set for her to access non-subsidised treatment. sharing this total will mean that hopefully we can get to that total and she can keep fighting.

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  • A break from chemo and a trip home

      18 July 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Just home from an amazing 3 weeks in the States.

    5-6 weeks ago I was struggling through chemo. I ended up in ED for blood and platelet transfusions and days of painful injections at hospital to get my white blood cells counts up. Made it through a pretty awful week with the help of my awesome friends.

    Ended up skipping the last two doses of chemo to recover and then got on a plane with the boys and headed overseas.

    Three weeks of beautiful memories with family and friends. Adventures with the kids and all the little special moments - multiple birthday parties surrounded by family, nights catching fireflies, kids playing soccer and basketball with their cousins, 4th of July fireworks, hugs and long talks, saw Noah turn 13, water slides and ice creams on hot summer days, catching critters in creeks in the woods...

    Thank you so much to everyone who helped make it happen. Feel so lucky to have such amazing family and friends and the chance to go home. Hoping with all my heart that I'll see you all again next year and a few more summers after that 💕🤞🏻🍀

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  • May Update

      30 May 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Had a couple weeks off chemo to let my liver recover and now back into chemo again this week. I had back and hip pain flare ups a few weeks ago and had a CT scan to make sure no major issues but it looks like chemo is working and tumors are shrinking. On the last month of chemo for now and then hopefully a bit of reprieve and recovery, keeping fingers crossed for a long period of stability to get back to life for awhile. But the little breaks have been awesome - my energy is still down and there's a hole in my hip bone from the tumor, so I can't do high impact activities but I have been getting out for some short paddles (a seal swam around and under our SUPs the last trip out!), watching Logan run cross country and Noah play basketball, and back at work a little to organise froggy conservation projects 🐸 plus have had amazing friends chipping in around the garden and lots of social visits and catch ups with others including a Breast Cancer Society fundraiser lunch that Velma Vermaat invited me to at NMIT yesterday

    On the up and up... So grateful for all the little things. Too easy to take our health for granted until it's a problem and for now, happy to just be living and surrounded by so many lovely people, time with my boys, a warm home and beautiful places.

    And for all of you who have been here in person and on calls and emails for the constant ups and downs of the last several months - thank you!!! I couldn't do this without you 💕

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  • A bit of reprieve

      30 April 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Had a few really horrible weeks of chemo...but my oncologist returned from overseas and dropped my chemo dose and suddenly life seems a bit more manageable. All relative of course 🙃 chemo sucks but I'm managing to eat three meals a day again most days now, can drive and leave the house again, do small walks, play with my boys and work a little.

    My parents came over from the states and totally spoiled the boys for the school holidays... so lovely!!! nice to have some quality time with them, especially since I wasn't stuck at home feeling miserable.

    Meagan Goodman and Hamish Roborgh took me and the boys to Anatori on the West Coast for Anzac weekend - such a welcome escape from town! nice to be in a beautiful spot with great company 💕 grateful for time in the sunshine, out in nature

    I think the mental side of the current situation has been one of the hardest aspects. A few weeks ago, I felt like I was dying and was having frequent intense anxiety attacks. But a little relief and the anxiety has receded. So enjoying the reprieve, the cuddles from my boys, the sunshine, good times and conversation with friends, nudging big projects forward with passionate workmates, good food, being outside. And in the meantime, the chemo is doing its job. I've completed weaned myself off the morphine from 8 pills a day, CT scan in Christchurch showed no tumor bulging out of my hip bone now, tumor on my chest wall has shrunk... Fingers crossed, prayers and hope for that to continue

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  • A hard week...

      29 March 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    It's been a tough week. Painful. Feeling pretty awful. At the start of the week my blood counts were too low for me to receive chemo. I got an injection of pegfilgrastim instead which gets your bone marrow to dump blood cells- and also causes a lot of intense bone pain. The morphine wasn't enough to stop that.

    But my blood levels went up. Wednesday was surgery to insert a port a catheter that connects to the blood vessels in my neck so that I could receive chemo etc into that as the IVs have become too painful and keep failing. My friend Ruth picked me up for surgery at 7:30 am - prepped by one of my favorite nurses, surgery went through without a hitch, a couple hours in recovery and then I walked upstairs for chemotherapy. A few days of feeling pretty sick after that. Finally started eating again on Saturday. Though my energy has been so low and I've been weak and tired. My friend Eva coaxed me out to the beach to walk and sit in the sun with the boys and the dog- highlight of the weekend. So grateful to live in such a beautiful place. 💕

    Kids have been absolutely amazing - helping out in the yard and around the house. We made sushi tonight and played card games and cuddled on the couch watching TV.

    But it makes me teary eyed... This is not how I wanted to be a mum. I wanted to have energy and take them on adventures.... hopefully I'll get there again. For awhile. But for now, grateful for this and that I've ended the week feeling a bit better than before.

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  • A good week ☺️

      18 March 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    It's hard to answer when someone asks me how I am. This last month has been a rollercoaster of emotions and so many tears. Best at this point to take life day by day. And in that respect, I've had a little run of good days this week and I'm so grateful for that. Because of the mess and stay in hospital after the last round of chemo, I've had an unexpected week off treatment. Though I'm tired it's been lovely and thanks to the morphine, pain free.

    Over the weekend, me and the boys joined the Department of Conservation Relay for Life team. Organised by the amazing Shelly Sidley. It was a lovely day out with the kids and nice to celebrate with friends and workmates and other survivors. To have a day of positivity and fun, a few tears shed remembering friends who didn't win their battle with cancer at the candlelight ceremony but overall more smiles and laughter than sadness, raising money for an awesome organization.

    A couple short days back in the office was a welcome bit of normality getting back into frog conservation - thank you to all my workmates and colleagues who are keeping all our froggie projects going 🐸

    And lots of medical planning for the weeks ahead. Back to chemo next week, getting a port surgically inserted on Wed, radiation in a few weeks.

    Oh and some great news!!! Chemo is working - the one tumor they can measure through the skin is shrinking! Hooray! Hopefully that means the other 4 are shrinking too🤞🏻

    Thanks again for all your support! Jen 💕

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    • 19/03/2026 by Michelle F

      Good to read about some normal and fun moments, even if made poignant by memories of some loss. Glad you were able to focus on work a bit. Thinking of you and your sons.

  • Home from hospital 💕

      9 March 2026
    Posted by: Jen Germano
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    Home at last!!!! after 4 days in hospital following a reaction to chemo session #2. A little more tired, a bit bruised and clogged up. Thank you to all the people who made the last few days a little less shitty - with company and food, taking care of kids and my dog, talking me down from my anxiety, rescuing me and putting in my 4th IV when the first three failed, gifts and goodies, conversation and encouragement, sitting for hours in the emergency room till 1 am, setting up meal trains and give a little pages to help me and the boys as we start down this track (and to all of you who have donated money and meals- you are all absolute superstars and I feel so loved!!!!). You are all amazing!!!

    I may have been dealt a shit hand in life when it comes to cancer, but I've won when it comes to friends and family, workmates and neighbors. Thank you for having my back last time, now and into the future. I couldn't do this without my village 💕

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