Families facing cancer this Christmas urgently need your support
As a charity, our free support services and ground-breaking research is only made possible by caring New Zealanders like you. Please help us make sure no one faces cancer alone this Christmas – donate today.
Samie’s story
When Samie found out she was pregnant, she thought she was about to start a beautiful new chapter.
But within weeks, everything changed.
A devastating diagnosis of stage 4 choriocarcinoma turned her world upside down. Her cancer had already spread to her lungs, and the treatment that followed was brutal.
“The nausea, the vomiting, the fatigue was out of this world. I thought I’d been tired before, but chemo fatigue is a whole-body fatigue – it feels like your body is made from cement.”
Through every setback, the Cancer Society was there.
When her mental health began to slip, Cancer Society nurses were there to check in. Her nurse, Tracey, phoned every week, sometimes twice, to make sure Samie and her family knew they weren’t facing it alone.
“The Cancer Society team were always there to nip it in the butt before it got too bad. Sometimes I’d answer the phone pretending I was fine, but my Cancer Society nurse, Tracey, could always tell. She’d say, ‘You don’t have to be strong all the time, Samie.’ That meant everything to me.”
Tracey cared about Samie, not just the cancer.
“Tracey would call me every week, sometimes twice a week, just to check how things were going, how my family was, how my dog was. She cared about the big picture – not just the cancer.”
And when things got really hard, when the infections became life-threatening, the Cancer Society made sure Samie’s mum had someone to talk to as well.
“Mum quit her job the week we found out so she could be with me every day. She’d come over and clean and cook and do everything, without batting an eye. But it was the Cancer Society who made sure she had someone to talk to as well.”
This is what your donation makes possible: care that goes beyond medicine.
It’s emotional support, expert nursing, access to counselling, and a safe place to stay when treatment is far from home.
Because cancer doesn’t just affect one person, it affects entire families.
Your gift this Christmas can make all the difference
Your kindness today will help make sure more people like Samie never have to face cancer alone.
- Help a Cancer Society nurse support someone through life-changing treatment.
- Provide free accommodation for patients and families who must travel long distances for care.
- Help people access counselling sessions to help people cope with the fear and uncertainty cancer brings.
- Support ground-breaking cancer research, bringing hope for the future.
Every gift brings comfort and hope.
“If you’ve got a dollar, send a dollar. One in three Kiwis will get cancer, and the Cancer Society helps every single one of them. Without donations, I wouldn’t be here.” – Samie
This Christmas, you can give someone like Samie the gift of care and comfort when they need it most.
