One Fundraiser To Rule Them All

I’m a breast cancer survivor with a brain tumour, but this is about ALL of us. Let’s raise awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Support NZ and Shocking Pink! Shocking Pink helps young women with breast cancer.

Remember 2020 lockdown? I noticed I had some hearing loss on one side and started getting terrible headaches. I waited for levels to lift and was eventually diagnosed with a non-malignant brain tumour. The size of a large mandarin and a pain in my neck, I named my brain tumour Donald.

Donald was set to wreak havoc with my cranial nerves and eventually kill me. Because he is wrapped around some of those nerves, my neurosurgeon couldn’t just scoop him all out. In 2021 I had a six hour brain surgery and Donald was reduced to the size of a chick pea. Surgery left me with hydrocephalus, so another brain surgery was required to pop a shunt in. I slowly returned to work with an unexpected hairstyle. I felt lucky to turn 40.

After all that, I wasn’t scared of much. Come October 2021 and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I learnt it’s recommended for women to get breast screening from the age of 40 (before it’s publicly funded). I booked in and figured I’d waltz in, waltz out and pop something on socials. Maybe someone who really needed it would get the hint? Turns out, that was me - I had stage 1 grade 3 breast cancer. So 2022 was lumpectomy, chemo and radiation (even on my birthday). Then I VERY slowly returned to work again, with no hair.

Help me celebrate my birthday this year!