Hello,
I trust you and your family are well. I’m writing to take a few moments of your time to put in perspective a worthy cause I’ve become involved with by way of the Tour of New Zealand cycling race.
With our busy lives it is not very often that we can say with any surety what we were doing on a certain day.
On Friday, 11 November 2011 Malcolm Legget, Auckland cardiologist and father of three, was told he had a form of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer and was given three months to live. That evening he took his family to the top of Mt Eden and delivered the devastating news.
As a doctor, Malcolm knew that if he was to have any chance of surviving he needed to be informed. In the days that followed his diagnosis, Malcolm vigorously researched neuroendocrine cancers only to discover that there wasn’t even a scanning facility in New Zealand let alone somewhere that offered treatment.
There was a glimmer of hope, though—such a facility existed in Melbourne. Malcolm has since undergone multiple treatments in Melbourne, and now, five years later his prognosis is significantly better.
In 2015 The Unicorn Foundation was established and Malcolm joined a number of other cyclists to cycle the length of the North Island in an effort to raise funds to purchase a GaTate PET scanner for the use of all New Zealanders. In November of that year, The Unicorn Foundation reached its goal, and celebrated the installation of the first GaTate PET scanner in New Zealand, partnering with Mercy Radiology in Auckland.
For the first time in New Zealand, we had the ability to correctly diagnose neuroendocrine cancer, as well as many other types.
Diagnosis, unfortunately, isn’t a cure and we are still unable to offer treatment to the more than 300 Kiwis who are diagnosed each year. Treatment can still only be sought in Australia and not without considerable cost—around $50,000—which must be met by the patient.
In the first week of April I will be joining Malcolm, along with another dedicated team of riders, to embark on another challenging bike ride; this time we’re tackling the South Island—some 900km in seven days.
Our hope is to raise enough money to fund ongoing treatment for sufferers of neuroendocrine cancers, right here in New Zealand.
I can only hope that you will become part of this journey and join with me to truly offer a better prognosis for each and every Kiwi currently facing an uncertain future due to neuroendocrine cancer.
Daryl Young