Getting on with it

My name is Isaac, I'm a 23 year old guy whose favourite things to do are tramping, boxing/fitness, playing music and eating good food.

I was diagnosed with primary mediastinal non-Hodgkins lymphoma in July 2020 (read: tumour between my heart and lungs), and at the time of writing I'm doing chemotherapy through our awesome public health system fully funded. The most time I spent in a hospital before all this was to get born, so this whole experience has been a real eye-opener:

- Lots of people are affected by cancer! 60 NZers are diagnosed with some form of cancer every day, not to mention all the relatives, friends and dependent people indirectly affected.

- NZ's publicly funded healthcare system is great, and so are the dedicated people that work in it, enabling people like myself to get on with life. The cost for equivalent treatment in the United States would likely be upwards of $10,000 US / month without medical insurance.

I want to give back to the people who are saving my life and hopefully help out other Kiwis affected by cancer. I'll raise money by getting outdoors - I'm planning to travel the length of NZ, kayaking, sailing, walking and cycling, starting in Jan 2021 all going well with my treatment. All proceeds from this page go directly to Well Foundation and Cancer Research Trust NZ. Thanks for reading!