Battle Cancer - Missy's Lifesaving Lymphoma Drug Fund

One of my best friends sister Marissa (Missy), received the devastating news in march this year that she had been diagnosed with an extremely rare, aggressive lymphoma. Such is the rarity of this type of cancer, there is no trial data and an effective treatment has been incredibly difficult to source.

This was the second cancer blow, as Missy had also been diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer 6 years ago whilst pregnant with her twins Tate & Lilli. Missy has now had two bi lateral mastectomies and multiple additional surgeries but the goal is to stay alive for her children Darcy, Beau, Tate and Lilli and her husband Dave.

Missy is now undergoing an 18-week chemotherapy journey and immunotherapy treatment with Brentuximab Vedotin. This drug targets and binds to the CD30 proteins of her cancer and will give her the best chance to fight this. However, it is unapproved and unfunded in NZ.

Whilst the good news is they have been able to source the treatment, the family need to fund this themselves. The cost is $123,000 which covers the drugs, consult and administration. She is due another surgery and likely to require a stem cell transplant following her treatment. As you can imagine, the financial strain is huge. They have managed to fund the first round but need support to keep going.

As such we are looking to raise as much money as possible to support the family and maximise the time Missy can spend with her family.