Cancer survivor finds support
Community rallies around cancer patient's recovery
For Hailey Jenner, a 38-yearold barber and mother of two from Taupō, the sudden discovery of a brain tumour meant surgery followed by weeks of radiation treatment at Waikato Hospital.
Facing hours of daily travel time coupled with the stress of her condition, Jenner was gearing herself up for a battle.
“I had to leave work because I couldn’t focus and I was getting dizzy. I couldn’t drive. Then after surgery, I couldn’t even lift a vacuum cleaner up,” Jenner said.
Jenner was put in touch with the Cancer Society’s Lions Lodge in Hamilton, a free ‘home away from home’ for people receiving cancer treatment at Waikato Hospital.
The Lodge provides regular shuttles to and from the hospital, all meals and access to support groups with an experienced nurse, and is completely free for cancer patients and their support person.
Jenner says one of the biggest benefits of the Lodge is connecting with the other guests, who areon a similar journey.
“It’s a healing spot. You meet a lot of people and you heal each other, from sharing stories. We’re all on different paths of life then we all come together and just make each other feel good.”
The Lodge, which supported over 1800 guests in the past financial year, is experiencing a steep increase in demand but relies on support from the community to run.
The Cancer Society’s annual event, Relay For Life, is one way the public can contribute.
“Relay For Life is our second largest fundraiser after Daffodil Day and the funds we raise are crucial to cover the operating costs of the Lodge and our other services in the region,” Fundraising Event Specialist Van Kilburn said.
“It’s also a fantastic event for the whole family. We will have live music, food trucks, family entertainment and this year we are also opening up the stage for the public to perform. We are looking forward to another great day for the community to come together and make a difference.”
This year, relay participants are each being encouraged to fundraise $500 in order to cover a person’s complete overnight stay at the Lodge including additional support services such as therapeutic massage and access to counselling.
Relay is also a special experience for people with cancer as it gives them the opportunity to open the event, a moment that Jenner wishes to use to celebrate her journey so far.
“I was with my family at the Lodge and we saw Relay and we were like right, we’re doing it! I want to walk in there and see everybody smile and see the joy in all the survivors. Staying here at the Lodge makes you reflect on a lot of things. It’s pushed me to want to go out and help other people,” Jenner said.
“I said to one of the people here, ‘we need to push more’. I’d never heard of the Lodge – the amount of times I’ve been to Hamilton and never knew it existed. But cancer doesn’t care who you are – age, demographic or anything.”
All proceeds support the Cancer Society Waikato/Bay of Plenty.
Hailey’s family team fundraiser can be found by searching for Unicorn Whanau Team at relayforlife. org.nz.