Life after cancer is tough, but there’s a way through By Lou James, Founder of PINC & STEEL
By Lou James, Founder of PINC & STEEL New Zealand Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation on
For many people, finishing cancer treatment feels like it should mark the end of a difficult chapter. But for some, it’s only the start of a new one: rebuilding their life.
Cancer often leaves more than physical scars; it can fundamentally change a person’s life, even long after remission. But while the emotional and physical impact can run deep, rehabilitation offers a way through. With the right support, people don’t just recover, they can learn to live again.
Putting your body back together after invasive treatment, carrying the invisible trauma of what some describe as a betrayal by their own body and feeling isolated from those who haven’t been through the same thing - these are the quiet, often overlooked parts of the cancer...
Letters: July may be the perfect month to go sober
By Veronica Shale, NZ Herald 1 July 2025 on
Letters: July may be the perfect month to go sober
Letters to the Editor
We read your editorial over a hot cuppa (not mulled wine – promise) and appreciated the straight-up take.
You’re right, July isn’t the easiest time to give up alcohol. It’s cold, it’s rugby season and comfort is king – but that’s exactly why it works.
Dry July is meant to be a challenge, a small sacrifice in support of the 2,200 New Zealanders who this month alone will hear the words “you have cancer” and are going through one of the hardest times of their lives.
The campaign started in 2008 with three Aussie mates raising funds for a mate in hospital. No slick branding or big strategy, just people doing something for someone they cared about. That story and spirit is...
Giving up for a good cause - Anne Fenwick wants to raise awareness of the programme that helped her during cancer fight
By Timaru Herald on
Sign up or donate at dryjuly.co.nz for cancer support services across Aotearoa. You'll be proud you did.
How paddle boarding funded by dry july helped cancer survivor find her feet again
By Deena Coster, The Post / Taranaki Daily News June 23, 2025 on
See The Post June 2025
How paddleboarding helped cancer survivor find her feet again
After a shock cancer diagnosis, Judy Armstrong has nothing but praise for how a rehabilitation charity helped her find her feet again.
At the age of 64, Armstrong was diagnosed with bowel cancer and was confronted with the need to undergo radiation, chemotherapy and surgery in short order, and then wear a stoma bag for eight months.
The diagnosis came out of the blue for the Waitara woman, who had none of the usual symptoms associated with the disease.
The only inkling something was amiss was the desperate urge she had to go to the toilet while out training one day for a marathon.
While she navigated her intensive treatment thanks to the support of family,...
survivor urges people to support Dry July after cancer battle
By Megan Wilson, Bay of Plenty Times June 2025 on
See NZ Herald / Bay of Plenty Times, June
Multiple myeloma: Pāpāmoa father diagnosed with cancer after bad back pain
Pāpāmoa father-of-four Blair Harrison was diagnosed with multiple myeloma after experiencing extreme back pain.
The 54-year-old has had a ‘good response’ to treatment and is in ‘partial remission’.
Harrison has highlighted the ‘crucial’ role of charities in his cancer recovery and is participating in Dry July.
Blair Harrison thought he was “just getting old” when he stopped jogging due to back pain.
Instead, he discovered the pain was from fractures in his lower back caused by multiple myeloma - a type of blood cancer.
Harrison was 53 when he was diagnosed in May last year.
Following an “extremely good response” to treatment,...
Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer: Tauranga mother beats disease twice
By Megan Wilson, Bay of Plenty Times / NZ Herald June 2025 on
Photo / David Hall
Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer: Tauranga mother beats disease twice
Tauranga mother-of-two Jess Synge knows what it is like to face and beat cancer – twice.
The 40-year-old was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when she was 15 after finding a lump in her neck.
She said she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, which was a result of the radiotherapy she had as a teenager.
Synge said the “weight” of a cancer diagnosis was “so much more significant” the second time.
“I’ve got kids … a career and a mortgage,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times.
After successful treatment, Synge returned to work full time.
Synge is backing Dry July – an annual challenge where participants give up alcohol for a month...
Sober thoughts a positive for cancer care
By The Blenheim Sun, June 11 2025 on
Sign up or donate at dryjuly.co.nz for cancer support services across Aotearoa. You'll be proud you did.