‘ Fight of my life’
MP’s cancer shock
Labour MP Kiri Allan has revealed she is in for the “fight of her life” after being diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer. She also revealed that she received her diagnosis on the day she delivered her much-lauded message to the nation in the wake of the Kermadec earthquake and tsunami alert.
Former National MP Nikki Kaye, who fought breast cancer when she was a Cabinet minister, has added her voice to a flood of support from across the political spectrum for the Labour MP, saying her heart went out to Allan.
Allan, MP for East Coast, was appointed to Cabinet last year, and will take leave from her Conservation and Emergency Management Minister roles while she has treatment.
In a statement to the Herald, Kaye said a cancer diagnosis was “very tough”.
“My heart goes out to Kiri. Kiri is a fighter. I know lots of people will be sending their love and support from in the Parliament and around NZ. My love to her and her family.”
Kaye was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, when she was in her mid-30s, and took leave from her ministerial roles to undergo treatment.
She dealt with the cancer privately, but spoke of the impact on her when she turned 40 in 2020. Kaye left Parliament in 2020, and has kept a low profile since.
Allan yesterday detailed how she endured symptoms for months before her diagnosis and was now urging other women to get tested.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern led the outpouring of support, saying she was “gutted”.
“As a friend and a colleague, I’ve been gutted by the news — the whole team has. But we’re also so heartened by the character, the person that Kiri is.”
Ardern said that from the outset Allan had shown a “level of determination to focus on her health and wellbeing, but to ultimately come back and be a part of the team again”.
Ardern said her focus now was to make sure she looked after herself first and foremost. The Prime Minister asked everyone to “look for the warning signs” when it came to cervical cancer.
National leader Judith Collins said Allan was “very brave”.
“It must be an incredibly traumatic time for her and the fact that she had to deal with the Civil Defence issue while she knew this was all happening really does speak volumes about her dedication and courage.”
Rotorua’s Tania Tapsell, the National candidate for the East Coast in last year’s election, told the Rotorua Daily Post it was “devastating to see another strong woman battling cervical cancer”.
“This is a huge reminder for women to take on the urgent message from Kiri Allan and my cousin Talei Morrison and ‘ smear your mea’,”
Tapsell said.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Allan told how long she has been experiencing symptoms as she faced up to the health battle. “So now the fight of my life begins,” she said. “To be honest, I’m one of those gals that hates anything to do with ‘ down there’. And have taken a ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ type approach to that part of my body.”
She said her last smear test was when cervical cancer campaigner Talei Morrison, just prior to her death, rallied her whanau, her friends and ultimately NZ to campaign for women — and particularly Maori women — to get their smear tests done regularly. “Talei’s call to wahine and wha¯nau to get tested was the push I needed to get it done.”
Allan said last year, during the election campaign, she noticed she was getting a lot of pain in her back, stomach and legs. “I put it down to lots of driving, working long hours and the general stress of campaigns etc.
“Earlier this year, I realised I was finding it hard to sit for a lengthy period of time. Always in a bit of pain. I started running to try and move the lower back area a little bit. Nothing seemed to take the pain away.”
She said that in late January, she started menstruating and didn’t stop. She put off going to see a doctor, telling herself “that stuff usually sorts itself out”.
But after four weeks, she said she went for a check-up at the GP, who put her on some medication. “At about six weeks of menstruating with no change since the GP visit, I raised it with my colleague and friend Ayesha Verrall, who is a doctor, asking if the bleeding was a little odd. She asked a few more questions and I told her about the pain. She made some recommendations and the next day I found myself having an ultrasound.”
The ultrasound found a 3cm growth — which she was told was “probably benign”.
“But the doctor made arrangements for me to go to the hospital the following day at the Women’s Clinic.”
She was sent for a further test the following day which revealed a 6cm tumour. Allan then immediately returned to the Beehive to front a nationally televised press conference on the latest tsunami warnings.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed yesterday that Allan will undertake a leave of absence while she undergoes medical treatment.
Speaking to media, Ardern said she found it “remarkable” that Allan was leading NZ through a Civil Defence emergency. “If only people knew what else she was dealing with.”