Skipping raises $5000-plus for women on Herceptin

April 24, 2007

Skipping raises $5000-plus for women on Herceptin

A new charity skipped to a head start on Sunday (April 22) when several thousand dollars was raised for New Zealand women who have breast cancer and cannot afford the controversial drug treatment Herceptin.

The charity Skip for Life organised “skip-ins” in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Nelson, where skippers, their sponsors and the general public put their hands in their pockets to the tune of $5466. By far the best response came from Nelson punters, who raised $4939 and turned out in big numbers.

The money will go to women with the HER2-positive form of breast cancer targeted by Herceptin, a treatment that is not funded for by government agency Pharmac in women with the cancer at an early stage.

Skip for Life founder and national coordinator Jacqueline Harrison, of Auckland, called it a great start to her campaign which recognises the difficulty faced by women and their families in trying to fund Herceptin, at around $6000 per treatment.

“Skip for Life represents the community stepping in where the health service is not meeting the need.

“The support of volunteers and the public to launch Skip for Life has been fantastic, and more events are planned to keep the ball rolling in the coming months.”

Jacqueline says that groups are establishing in many towns and cities to support women who face bills of thousands of dollars to fund their Herceptin treatment.

Jacqueline also says that existing local volunteers would welcome any assistance for future events.

Donations to Skip for Life can be made at Westpac banks or via the website www.skipforlife.org.nz. Leading fashion designer Liz Mitchell has designed a T-shirt to support the cause. T-shirts can be ordered on the website.

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