Cancer diagnosis hits home in Rangiora
A number of pink ribbon breakfasts were hosted across the country last month. The events aimed to raise money and awareness of the disease, which kills 600 New Zealanders each year.
This year’s Big North Canterbury Pink Ribbon Breakfast was organised with a specific person in mind: Tonya Bristow of Rangiora.
Bristow said she was blown away by the generosity of her friends for organising it.
‘‘Last November, I became one of those women [diagnosed with breast cancer] and am now part way through my fight against this disease,’’ she said.
‘‘My friends, Laura and Tracy, came up with the idea for this fundraiser and I was humbled by how their friends and family as well as many local businesses got behind them to support the event.’’
The event was held at the Brook Bar and sponsored by Carters Tyres North Canterbury. The 150 tickets sold out in less than three weeks and more than $5000 was raised for the cause. The North Canterbury breakfast was the eighth biggest this year in New Zealand in terms of fundraising.
‘‘The food was outstanding, the emcees hilarious, the atmosphere was great and they raised nearly $5,500 for breast cancer which is a fantastic effort and one that everyone who attended the event should be proud of,’’ Bristow said.
Carters Tyres North Canterbury owner and one of the organisers Tracy McKenzie said when she first found out Tonya had breast cancer she wanted more than anything for the diagnosis to be wrong.
‘‘I told her ‘It will just be a calcium build up from breast feeding’,’’ she recalls. ‘‘Oh how I wish I was right. My mind was in a spin and it wasn’t happening to me.’’
A week went by before McKenzie realised she had never checked her own breasts for warning signs, in fact she didn’t even know how.
‘‘Mr Google told me how but I didn’t,’’ she said. ‘‘A few days went on and I still didn’t check, I was too scared — all of a sudden I didn’t feel so bullet proof.’’
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The thing she really wanted people to take away from the event, other than the knowledge their donation was going to a worthy cause, was that breast cancer was not sexist, ageist or racist, nor did it differentiate according to lifestyle choices.
‘‘No one knows when breast cancer will next hit, so our only hope is early detection. Let’s do what we can to protect ourselves,’’ she told the crowd at the event.
‘‘Our children need their mums, grandmothers, aunties, friends. If nothing else I ask you to go home today and check your breasts.’’
In New Zealand, 3000 women are diagnosed each year, which is a little more than eight diagnoses per day, and there are more than 600 deaths per year.