Tautoko Steven through his Cancer Journey

Feb 2023 our lives changed drastically, my father was rushed in to hospital for a life saving emergency surgery on his small bowel. After spending 3 weeks in hospital, within 2 days of being home dad was told that they removed 22cms of dad’s small bowel which was riddled in cancer. Dad was diagnosed with a rare NK T cell lymphoma leukaemia and was required to undergo chemotherapy immediately! As a tight knit whānau we were absolutely devastated with the news and still to this day try and wrap our heads around the reality of this journey. After 2 different forms of chemotherapy one being the strongest form of chemo they have ever administered in Nz and another form similar not being successful then dad was put on another form of immunotherapy all within the last 8 months, with dad being admitted multiple times with fluid retention, infections and reactions from the treatment he was receiving. We have been travelling back and forth to Auckland hospital each day we have received the news that dad will be receiving his Stem cell transplant in December and dad will be in hospital through Christmas and new years. He will be given TBI( Total body radiation) and chemotherapy before his transplant. Dad is a very high risk patient and we have been given the possibilities of what could happen within this transplant that could end up fatal. We are putting all our trust into all the specialists, nurses, doctors who work tirelessly around the clock to ensure dad has the best care possible.