Rotorua mum, makeup artist and dairy farm owner, Ceitha Andrews, remembers being taken out of school when she was 13 to visit her dad in the hospital as he’d had surgery for melanoma. “He was only 34, and little did I know then what lay in front of us as a family,”...
Her friends are busy studying, working and planning their futures. However, 20-year-old Lauren is battling Stage 3B melanoma, undergoing immunotherapy treatment to potentially save her life, and says she feels like people don’t really understand how deadly this cancer...
‘Don’t let a spot become a full stop’. This is the message Melanoma New Zealand and FMG are sharing with rural New Zealanders. With over 50% of rural New Zealand insured with FMG and a strong presence in those communities, FMG has today announced it’s partnering with...
Diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in November 2017 and given just a 15% chance of surviving until the following Christmas, Shane Callaghan shares his story of hope and inspiration in the face of a devastating prognosis. Shane was initially diagnosed with melanoma on...
Emma Abrahams was diagnosed with Stage 3C melanoma in May this year. The 38 year-old Auckland mum shares her story with us to encourage others who have been diagnosed with melanoma to keep hopeful and to ask for support. Emma’s melanoma journey started with a small...
Michael Pilaar was 17 when he was diagnosed with melanoma, and only 19 years old when he died. Michael’s mother Elizabeth shares a confronting account of her loved son’s battle with this terrible disease, in the hope that it will help spread the word that melanoma can...
21-year-old Aucklander Leo Tahakashi had been selected to represent Japan in sailing at the 2020 Olympic Games, but his dreams were put on hold when the Games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Needing a focus, Leo decided to run in the Auckland Marathon...
Jack Keeys was diagnosed with melanoma last year at just 24 years old. Thankfully, his melanoma was caught early, and after two surgeries, he was given the all clear by his specialist. Jack was really shocked when he found out that the mole on his upper back was a...
Simon McLean’s beloved father Colin died of melanoma four years ago at the age of 62. He is planning on running the ASB marathon at the end of the year to fundraise for Melanoma New Zealand, in memory of his dad. “I really want to do something to support the work...
The summer of 2004/2005 had been a great one, I had just got married, had completed my first year as a commercial lawyer, was rolling into my 6th year as a member of the Silver Fern Netball Team and we had just added a new puppy and Burmese cat to our brand spanking...