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Supporting Jane in her battle with stage IV ovarian cancer

  • March 2021 Update on Jane's Treatment

      14 March 2021
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    Hey wonderful people,

    Hope you’ve all been good as we wave goodbye to summer and enter Autumn. We just wanted to give a quick update on how Jane is doing and her treatment is progressing.

    Last week she began her first Avastin treatment which will continue once every three weeks, with weekly chemo continuing alongside this. We’re hoping that this extends her time significantly and allows her to have the best possible quality of life. While there are some people who have negative experiences with it, there are people who’ve gone on to live much longer than they would have otherwise.

    We’re really hoping that Jane is in this group, but only time will tell. So far so good, with only minor side effects - which is a good sign.

    We really wanted to thank all of you for your incredible generosity and for helping to make this treatment option possible for Jane. It truly does mean a lot.

    Even though the Givealittle fundraising closes today, we’ll still be posting updates to keep you informed about how things are going.

    With love and gratitude,

    Ella, Kern and Murray

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  • Update to data and target amount

      26 February 2021

    Hey wonderful people,

    We've made a decision to increase the amount we're looking to raise and shift the fundraising end date as the cost of mum's treatment is going to be substantially more expensive - due to the more extensive option (Avastin) being the only path forward remaining in terms of treatment.

    It would be absolutely amazing if you could share this page with your networks so we can get the word out and try to reach our goal.

    We appreciate all of your support so far and can't thank you enough for your donations, heartfelt words and for being there for us as well as Jane through this difficult time.

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  • Another update

      25 February 2021

    Hey amazing people,

    Thanks again for all the incredible support so far. It means so much to our family.

    Just wanted to give a bit of an update on the situation as we supported Jane with a big meeting with her Oncologist today.

    We heard that due to the results of the scan and the CA125 test that mum has now been categorized as platinum-refractory. Unfortunately, this means that cancer has continued to grow despite the chemo rounds - significantly reducing her treatment options as well as impacting her longevity. We’ve been absolutely devastated by this news and it has definitely been a tough day.

    Jane has made the decision to proceed with weekly chemo as well as three-weekly Avastin which right now seems like the best option for increasing lifespan as well as giving her an improved quality of life. Research and Oncologist advice has indicated that this has the potential to improve her prognosis to a reasonable degree.

    It is definitely one of the more costly options and we are just so thankful for all the awesome support we’ve received from you. We’ll continue to keep you updated as we hear further news.

    With love and gratitude,

    Ella, Kern and Murray

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  • Quick update from the family

      9 February 2021

    First off, thank you so much for your wonderful supporrt. It means a huge amount to Jane and to us. We have a massive amount of gratitude for all the amazing help she’s received so far.

    Just giving a quick update on the last few weeks since the Givealittle kicked off:

    - Jane has generally been feeling fairly well, having had her 5th cycle of chemo with only limited side effects so far.

    - Jet (the cat) went missing recently but was found and managed to survive a massive fall completely unharmed, thanks to a legendary catch by Nicole. There are a couple of articles about it here with some great comments from Jane in the Bay of Plenty Times:

    https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/261544-support-kitten-survives-10-metre-fall.html

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/tauranga-support-kitten-survives-10m-fall-from-tree/W66ZD7A32APOPLVVY5S325GDL4/

    - We got a genetic test back recently and can confirm that Jane does not have the HRD deficiency. With this result we know that Olaparib (a drug that improves longevity among those with Ovarian cancer who have the gene) would have a much lower probability of making a difference. This means Jane will likely receive Avastin, a drug that will likely have a positive impact but less so than Olaparib, with an additional significant cost.

    We’ll keep you updated as to how things progress and once again, thank you all so much for your wonderful support so far!

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