My Account
Mahurangi College senior students held a fundraising Funky Shirt Friday and bake off on March 4 that they wish hadn’t been necessary.
The funds are being donated to fellow Year 12 student John Taylor, 16, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma on January 14.
“Sometimes when bad things happen, it brings out the best in people,” John says philosophically. “I’m very grateful, and a bit overwhelmed, by the effort everyone is making on my behalf.
“It also makes me feel really happy to know I live in a community that is so quick to help one another, even me!”
John is currently learning from home so wasn’t able to participate in the day. As his mother Carla says, “the last thing John needs at the moment is Covid”.
But Covid has, at least, meant that home schooling hasn’t been a drama.
“There are other students learning from home so I’m not feeling left out at all,” John says. “The teachers are making it very easy to access the work and, at least at home, I’m not being treated any different than any other student.”
Carla explains that John found it tough being at school in a wheelchair after having surgery on his lower leg at the start of the year.
The Warkworth family has been on a roller-coaster ride since a small spot was first noticed on John’s right shin last August.
Covid alert levels meant that getting medical appointments and test results were constantly delayed.
When the melanoma was finally diagnosed, the specialist recommended surgery to remove the wider margins around the original site as soon as possible. Knowing that waiting to go through the public system could take weeks, John’s uncle loaned the family the $13,000 needed for the surgery and testing.
The surgery revealed that the cancer had spread beyond the initial site to lymph nodes in the groin and a PET scan was recommended. Again, John’s uncle agreed to loan the family the $3000 to pay for this to be done privately, because time was of an essence, but added that he had reached the limit of his ability to borrow against his mortgage.
The scan revealed that there were no tumours over four millimetres anywhere else in John’s body and various treatment options were discussed.
He was referred to a paediatric oncologist at Starship who has since sought advice from St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, in the United States, because of the rarity of John’s type of melanoma.
The family is now waiting for the phone call that will tell them what treatment options the doctors will recommend.
But a critical question at this stage will be John’s age. He turns 17 in July, which means the family could be facing a treatment bill of around $120,000 if he is no longer covered by Starship.
In the interim, a friend has set up a Give-A-Little page to help pay for John’s initial surgery and testing, and to raise money towards the cost of future treatment and care.
Carla says the decision to do this was a difficult one as there are three other children (all teenagers) in the family.
“We knew it would put the entire family in the spotlight very quickly. However, we decided that we couldn’t risk not being able to pay for John’s treatment immediately if immunotherapy is recommended so agreed to the page being set up,” she says.
“So far, just over $33,000 has been donated, but that amount was raised in the first week or so and contributions have slowed considerably since then, leaving us concerned that we won’t be able to afford the treatment if it is recommended.”
To help John’s family, the Givealittle page can be found here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/john-taylor-16yo-has-cancer-and-needs-your-help
