Catherine’s story: “The stigma of being financially ruined is catastrophic”
In November 2024, 53-year-old, Auckland woman Catherine was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) – an aggressive form that’s harder to treat.
She was recommended Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to improve her chance of survival, but it’s only funded for stage 4 TNBC. To afford the $85,000 treatment, she’s been forced to sell her family home of 20 years.
She’s sharing her story to support Breast Cancer Foundation NZ's call for better access to vital cancer medicines.
I’d been having yearly mammograms since my late thirties because of a scare I’d had in my early 20s. I’ve been recalled after a mammogram before which ended up being a non-event, so I assumed this would also be the case when they contacted me to come back. I had no warning at all that it would be bad news.
After having a second mammogram and a biopsy, I sat in a room with a doctor and nurse and felt like I was having an out of body experience. Once it had sunk in, I just burst into tears.
Once I met with my oncologist, I was told I’d need aggressive treatment to get reduce the chance of this aggressive cancer coming back – but Keytruda would only be funded if my cancer was metastatic.
I joined online groups to get a sense of what other people were saying and doing. I found a lot of very stressed people in the same situation, without the means to come up with the funds.
I’ve had to put my family house on the market to pay for Keytruda. It’s been my family home for 20 years and selling it feels like I’m letting my children down. But I wouldn’t be able to have treatment otherwise.
The stigma of being financially ruined is catastrophic, it’s had a massive impact on me. My daughter sees that I’m emotional and she doesn’t understand that it’s not just the cancer but having to find the money to be rid of the cancer. There are some days I think I won’t die of the cancer, but the emotional toll of how to pay for the treatment I need.
The fact I must go to such lengths to get this treatment makes me feel insignificant as a NZ citizen. I’ve worked hard all my life and as a business owner, I’ve provided opportunities to others. But everything I’ve achieved is fruitless if I can’t save myself. I feel lost for my future if I can’t be here for my children and possible grandchildren. We should be better than this, whether a person lives or dies shouldn’t come down to money.
After seeing the extent of the stress and agony other people like me are going through, I set up a petition to Parliament to get Keytruda funded for early TNBC. In June, Breast Cancer Foundation NZ supported me as I presented it to National MP Nancy Lu, calling for the Government to fund Keytruda for early-stage TNBC.
My petition has attracted over 17,000 signatures, sending a powerful message: people want to see NZ catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to access to life-saving medicines. It’s too late for me now, but I don’t want any woman diagnosed with TNBC to have to face financial difficulty to ensure they can live.
Your support helps Breast Cancer Foundation NZ advocate for these essential medicines that are standard of care around the world. Thank you for helping drive change for New Zealanders diagnosed with breast cancer.
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