Manda Black

I'm hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast for the ten women diagnosed with breast cancer each day in New Zealand.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand women. One in 10 will be diagnosed with it in their lifetime. 650 women in New Zealand will die from this disease every year. I am hosting a Pink Ribbon fundraiser to raise awareness and share my story.

Everybody knows that pink is my favourite colour. 

On my daughter’s 13th birthday, in November 2024, I received a phone call from my GP confirming I had breast cancer. 

Unfortunately, I am also one in 20 New Zealanders that are diagnosed with advanced/metastatic breast cancer right off the bat. I skipped stages 1, 2, 3, and landed on stage 4. Sadly, my cancer is incurable.

I knew something was wrong, random pains and a kind of puckering indent thing going on on my breast. I couldn’t find a lump though, so I wasn’t overly concerned. My worst mistake was accepting a recommendation to wait until I turned 45 because I would be eligible for my first free mammogram.

From a 2.5cm tumour in my breast, cells broke away and travelled through my blood, setting up cancer camps throughout countless bones in my body. In this scenario there are drugs that can give the gift of more time, or if cancer is caught early enough, can help prevent reoccurrence, but these drugs, along with heavy pain medication, can come with some nasty side effects. Sometimes they may feel worse than cancer itself. For me, they give life so I try not to complain.

My oncologist recently dulled my sparkle when she was asked if she’s ever seen a patient with my level of disease go into remission. She simply said ‘no’. No ‘but’s, no ‘maybe’s. She also estimated I’d live for 2-5 years. I know I will prove her wrong! I know it’s possible. I cannot leave my daughter without her mum.

The Breast Cancer Foundation does amazing things. Not only do donations provide life-changing education and patient support, they also go towards ground-breaking medical research. They advocate for all women affected by breast cancer, recommending medications for funding, working with other agencies. They strive to one day bring deaths from breast cancer down to zero. They give people like me hope, which is incredibly important when cancer takes all it can from you. It doesn’t have to be a death sentence.

Fundraising is an investment in our future, our children and our grandchildren’s future.