40+ Pink Ribbon volunteers help fundraising drive – December 2024

By Lyle Griffiths

The Pink Ribbon collection on 27 and 28 October saw more than 40 volunteers each do a two- hour shift at five sites throughout Martinborough town. The result: a total of $4,500 was collected from willing donors.

Area coordinators Jan Barrett and Kathryn Keogh want to sincerely thank all the volunteers who made it so successful.

Breast Cancer is the most common female cancer in Aotearoa/New Zealand, with one in nine women diagnosed every day.

Andrea Canning, one of the collectors has just recently been through three years of treatment. 

“I didn’t even realise that I had it, ” said Andrea. “It had been a really hot day and when I came in I took a shower. As I was soaping myself, I felt a small lump in my breast but didn’t think it was anything extraordinary as I had recently had a mammogram.

“After visiting the doctor and having more tests we discovered that I did have a growth, which was triple negative, a very aggressive and fast growing type of cancer,” she said.

“From then on our life changed. Six months of Chemotherapy was the first stage. I was warned that the treatment would ‘rock your world’ and it certainly did. Within two treatments I had lost my hair. There were bouts of vomiting and nausea to cope with although the drugs to control this helped most of the time.

“Then I was offered Keytruda, an unfunded immunotherapy which was very new for treating this kind of breast cancer. Described as ‘the icing on the cake,’ we decided to go with it. 

“Radiation treatment at Wellington hospital was the final step and was relatively straight forward with only minor side effects. The results have been positive and throughout all the tests – CT, Bone, Heart scans and Blood transfusions – I have been so grateful to the nurses and doctors who have treated me. 

“The Cancer Society provided parking and accommodation when I went into Wellington for treatment. I never had to wait. I could even claim for my travel costs. 

“I cannot count the number of appointments I have had but one of the things which helped me significantly was being able to talk about it and share the experience,” Andrea added. “It certainly helped to demystify the process.”

“One piece of advice I would give anyone going through this type of treatment is be aware of the side effects of some of these drugs and make sure any concerns you have are taken seriously.

“Pink Ribbon’s role in educating women about breast cancer and early detection, providing support while people are having treatment, research and lobbying for improved medication cannot be underestimated.”

Caption: Rowena Pearce and Anne-Marie Durkin on fundraising duty