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Nicholas Mcbride.
Aman with terminal cancer will spend his last days living on the breadline after a mole sent his life into a downward spiral. year ago Kurt Seddon, 29, and his now husband Russell Broom, were both working as full time cleaners, dreaming of marriage and planning a future together in Palmerston North.
But now what looms on the horizon is Seddon’s funeral.
On Friday he was admitted into the hospice, and it was unclear how much longer he had left. The cancer has spread to his bones and brain.
‘‘We had struggled for a few years, Seddon said, ‘‘but when we were working, we started to get into a decent position for once in our lives and it was all snatched away.’’ ‘‘Some days I think I’m cursed.’’ Broom quit his job in order to care for Seddon, but their final days together had become ‘‘a nightmare’’.
Living off $250 a week in benefits, they could no longer afford the house they had been renting and were now in a state house.
They struggle to pay their bills and put food on the table.
‘‘It is a nightmare and it is every week. Every day you wake up and you know what it is going to be like,’’ Broom said.
‘‘There were weeks where we only had potatoes and bread.
‘‘It just gets worse because Kurt is getting worse. I’m at the point of giving up.
‘‘He hasn’t got a lot of time left and I should be able to concentrate on him.’’
The couple are no strangers to bad luck. Three years ago, while the pair were living in Whanganui, they were victims of a home invasion.
But since Seddon’s illness, they have also felt let down. They have lost faith in the health system, believing the cancer should have been picked up earlier.
Seddon noticed a big mole on his thigh that had changed colour in late 2015. He could not afford a GP visit, so went to Palmerston North Hospital’s Emergency Department.
He said he was told the mole was not cancerous, but was advised to see his GP.
Broom said because they could not afford it, they left it at that, with the understanding the mole was not cancerous.
When Seddon’s health worsened, he went back to hospital in March 2016 when a biopsy confirmed he had stage four melanoma.
Midcentral DHB clinical services and transformation general manager Mike Grant said when Seddon first visited the emergency department he was assessed and advised that he mole did not require immediate treatment.
‘‘The ED doctor discussed Mr Seddon’s situation with him, including his personal circumstances. Mr Seddon’s GP was advised about his visit to ED. He was strongly advised to follow up with his GP.
‘‘We are sorry that Mr Seddon did not follow up with his GP.’’
Grant said GPS were best placed to manage skin changes.
While caring for his dying husband, Broom said he was asked by WINZ when they could return to work.
However, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Katie Brosnahan said neither man had any obligations to work or to actively look for a job.
Brosnahan said Broom’s exemption to work had lapsed, resulting in a letter being sent asking about his work capacity.
‘‘This should not have happened and we have apologised.’’
Saturday is World Cancer Day. Russell Broom has set up a Givealittle page. Search ‘Kurt Seddon’. An earlier page, started by a third party, titled ‘Melanoma Stage 4 Terminal’, had been closed. The couple claim not all the funds were being passed on.
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‘‘It is a nightmare and it is every week. Every day you wake up and you know what it is going to be like.’’ Russell Broom, Seddon’s husband
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