Support our amazing friend Kelly McNabb to fight her brain tumour

Kelly is a warm, bright and bubbly lady, who is deeply loved by her husband Brendon, and her 2 children, Daniel aged 3, and Jacob aged 2.

Last December, Kelly (who is only 36 years old) was diagnosed with a high grade glioblastoma (fast growing brain tumour). Kelly is battling hard for more time with her boys, with 2 brain surgeries, radiotherapy and chemo, and a great positive attitude. Kelly has already had nearly six months of temozolomide chemotherapy but unfortunately the tumour did not respond to this.

Kelly is an astute clinician and has carefully researched her options for improving survival time. She investigated the option of going to Duke University in USA to participate in a clinical trial showing promising results with her type of tumour but due to clinical and logistical reasons this is not an option at this stage. The Deputy Director of Dukes, who is an international expert in the field, suggested that her best treatment option now is a drug called "Avastin", which is not funded in NZ for brain tumours and costs $7,885 per dose. It is administered fortnightly until it either stops working (she will be having regular MRI scans to assess this) or for 104 weeks.

Trial data on the effectiveness of Avastin was published in 2014 and has shown benefit for recurrent brain tumours like Kelly's. It is believed to be effective in extending survival time in 40% of people with glioblastoma tumours compared to 10% with standard available treatment. It works by cutting off the blood supply to the tumour to stop it from growing rapidly. Another benefit is that it not only works on reducing blood supply to the tumour but also reduces swelling in the brain which will improve Kelly's quality of life and improve her ability to function as she goes about daily living with her family and life in general.

After a lifetime of caring for others as an ICU Nurse and volunteer Brownie Leader, now it's time for us to care for her.

We know that Kelly has many friends within the nursing/medical/dietetic and wider health professional community, not just at MidCentral Health where she worked for many years as an ICU Nurse, but also around the country, as she was also a Flight Nurse and made friends wherever she went. More recently Kelly has worked with the Diabetes & Endocrinology Service making a significant contribution to the care of people with diabetes, especially improving the quality of care provided when people with diabetes are admitted to hospital.

We know there are many friends within GirlGuiding, not only Leaders, but also families of girls that she inspired during her nearly 17 years as a volunteer Brownie leader. We know there are many Gang Show friends from her years on the stage, performing as part of that fantastic tradition. We know that Kelly's husband Brendon, also has many friends and supporters within the Army community that he has gained over his 25 years of service.

Now's the time for us all to band together, and to give a little bit to fund Kelly's treatment costs.

So, dig deep and share widely across all our contacts, and let's show Kelly that she has a special place in our hearts.