Fiji PM Rabuka orders fresh probe into resort poisoning
Fiji's government is conducting a fresh probe into a pina colada poisoning incident after an Australian victim revealed their distressing experience.
Seven people, including four Australians, fell ill after consuming drinks at the five-star Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast in December.
Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said a toxicology report showed there were "no illicit substances or methanol" involved.
One of the victims disputes this, saying she was violently shaking after "two sips" of an odd-tasting pina colada. She fell unconscious and spent three days in a coma in a Fiji hospital before a medivac flight and another six days in an Australian intensive care unit.
She spoke to the ABC under the pseudonym Suzanne to protect her identity.
"I've spent the last four months trying to recover, seeing lots of specialists, heart specialists, neurologists, blood specialists, trying to recover," she told the ABC.
Suzanne believes Fiji and the Warwick Resort is attempting to bury the significance of the incident and is considering legal action against the hotel, which she says has not apologised despite the "traumatising" incident.
Following the interview, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conceded the initial testing may have been wrong.
"My first reaction, and probably the most logical response from me as prime minister, is that I have not been told the whole truth," he told the ABC.
"I would like all government agencies to cooperate if it's more than just a case of probable poisoning, accidental or intentional ... it will affect Fiji as a tourist destination.
"And if anybody is culpable in neglect or culpable in their deliberate attempt to harm people, they will be brought to justice."
Almost half of Fiji's GDP comes from tourism, with Australia and New Zealand providing the biggest share of visitors to the Melanesian paradise.
Mr Rabuka said would-be tourists should not be put off by the December incident.
"Fiji is still the same. That incident is an isolated one," he said.
Fiji's government is conducting a fresh probe into a pina colada poisoning incident after an Australian victim revealed their distressing experience.
Seven people, including four Australians, fell ill after consuming drinks at the five-star Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast in December.
Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said a toxicology report showed there were "no illicit substances or methanol" involved.
One of the victims disputes this, saying she was violently shaking after "two sips" of an odd-tasting pina colada. She fell unconscious and spent three days in a coma in a Fiji hospital before a medivac flight and another six days in an Australian intensive care unit.
She spoke to the ABC under the pseudonym Suzanne to protect her identity.
"I've spent the last four months trying to recover, seeing lots of specialists, heart specialists, neurologists, blood specialists, trying to recover," she told the ABC.
Suzanne believes Fiji and the Warwick Resort is attempting to bury the significance of the incident and is considering legal action against the hotel, which she says has not apologised despite the "traumatising" incident.
Following the interview, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conceded the initial testing may have been wrong.
"My first reaction, and probably the most logical response from me as prime minister, is that I have not been told the whole truth," he told the ABC.
"I would like all government agencies to cooperate if it's more than just a case of probable poisoning, accidental or intentional ... it will affect Fiji as a tourist destination.
"And if anybody is culpable in neglect or culpable in their deliberate attempt to harm people, they will be brought to justice."
Almost half of Fiji's GDP comes from tourism, with Australia and New Zealand providing the biggest share of visitors to the Melanesian paradise.
Mr Rabuka said would-be tourists should not be put off by the December incident.
"Fiji is still the same. That incident is an isolated one," he said.
Fiji's government is conducting a fresh probe into a pina colada poisoning incident after an Australian victim revealed their distressing experience.
Seven people, including four Australians, fell ill after consuming drinks at the five-star Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast in December.
Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said a toxicology report showed there were "no illicit substances or methanol" involved.
One of the victims disputes this, saying she was violently shaking after "two sips" of an odd-tasting pina colada. She fell unconscious and spent three days in a coma in a Fiji hospital before a medivac flight and another six days in an Australian intensive care unit.
She spoke to the ABC under the pseudonym Suzanne to protect her identity.
"I've spent the last four months trying to recover, seeing lots of specialists, heart specialists, neurologists, blood specialists, trying to recover," she told the ABC.
Suzanne believes Fiji and the Warwick Resort is attempting to bury the significance of the incident and is considering legal action against the hotel, which she says has not apologised despite the "traumatising" incident.
Following the interview, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conceded the initial testing may have been wrong.
"My first reaction, and probably the most logical response from me as prime minister, is that I have not been told the whole truth," he told the ABC.
"I would like all government agencies to cooperate if it's more than just a case of probable poisoning, accidental or intentional ... it will affect Fiji as a tourist destination.
"And if anybody is culpable in neglect or culpable in their deliberate attempt to harm people, they will be brought to justice."
Almost half of Fiji's GDP comes from tourism, with Australia and New Zealand providing the biggest share of visitors to the Melanesian paradise.
Mr Rabuka said would-be tourists should not be put off by the December incident.
"Fiji is still the same. That incident is an isolated one," he said.
Fiji's government is conducting a fresh probe into a pina colada poisoning incident after an Australian victim revealed their distressing experience.
Seven people, including four Australians, fell ill after consuming drinks at the five-star Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast in December.
Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said a toxicology report showed there were "no illicit substances or methanol" involved.
One of the victims disputes this, saying she was violently shaking after "two sips" of an odd-tasting pina colada. She fell unconscious and spent three days in a coma in a Fiji hospital before a medivac flight and another six days in an Australian intensive care unit.
She spoke to the ABC under the pseudonym Suzanne to protect her identity.
"I've spent the last four months trying to recover, seeing lots of specialists, heart specialists, neurologists, blood specialists, trying to recover," she told the ABC.
Suzanne believes Fiji and the Warwick Resort is attempting to bury the significance of the incident and is considering legal action against the hotel, which she says has not apologised despite the "traumatising" incident.
Following the interview, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conceded the initial testing may have been wrong.
"My first reaction, and probably the most logical response from me as prime minister, is that I have not been told the whole truth," he told the ABC.
"I would like all government agencies to cooperate if it's more than just a case of probable poisoning, accidental or intentional ... it will affect Fiji as a tourist destination.
"And if anybody is culpable in neglect or culpable in their deliberate attempt to harm people, they will be brought to justice."
Almost half of Fiji's GDP comes from tourism, with Australia and New Zealand providing the biggest share of visitors to the Melanesian paradise.
Mr Rabuka said would-be tourists should not be put off by the December incident.
"Fiji is still the same. That incident is an isolated one," he said.
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Sydney Morning Herald
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What happened to Harold Holt? A new novel puts his widow in the spotlight
Kim Wilkins' eyes mist up suddenly. 'I'm going to get a little teary. It's just, Harold Holt's been a bit of a punchline. 'So when I read Zara's memoir, and she talks about the day that he disappears, I finally got that this was a real human being with children, grandchildren and a wife who had loved him for 40 years.' Dame Zara Holt's memoir, My Life and Harry, came out in the wake of the 1967 disappearance of Australia's 17th prime minister while he was swimming at Cheviot Beach in Portsea, Victoria. Toowong-based novelist Wilkins read it after a friend in publishing told her about Zara during a discussion of overlooked women in Australian history. 'This woman was incredible, and I barely knew about her,' Wilkins says. 'She was clever and entrepreneurial, and a really talented designer. She was 19 when she started her first fashion house with her best friend. 'I read her memoir and I thought, oh, there's a novel in this.' That novel is The Secret Year of Zara Holt, Wilkins' new book under her nom de plume, Kimberley Freeman. Wilkins – let's call her Freeman for clarity – is a University of Queensland academic who has somehow found the time to publish more than 30 novels under two names. Her new book covers the life of Zara, nee Dickins, from the night she met Holt at a college dance in Melbourne in 1927 until his fateful swim 40 years later. Speculation about Holt's fate has ranged from a Chinese spy submarine supposedly plucking him from Bass Strait to assassination by the CIA. Some believe he faked his death. Freeman weaves her own theory into her novel, based on what she learned about Zara and Harry's personalities and marriage. 'Harry obviously had commitment issues, and it's well known that he had multiple affairs, even after he and Zara were married. 'He was with his long-term mistress on the beach that day, but he was seeing many other women. No wonder he and [US president Lyndon B. Johnson] got on so well, because LBJ was exactly the same.' Magg, Zara's fashion boutique with friend Betty James, showcased a prodigious talent for design – a collection of her outfits is held at the National Gallery of Victoria. She also contributed to the war effort with innovative ideas while working for her father's food manufacturing business. She had three children before finally marrying Holt, then a rising star in Robert Menzies' cabinet. Zara would bring style to the role of prime minister's wife in the same way Jackie Kennedy added stardust to JFK's White House. Ultimately, she cut an equally tragic figure. Holt came to power when Menzies retired, won the 1966 election and governed for 22 months. His much-reviled 'all the way with LBJ' line outraged Australia's anti-Vietnam War movement. Still, Freeman did not expect to admire Holt's political career as much as she did. 'I'm a member of the Labor Party. And reading about Holt and Menzies blew my mind. That's not the Liberal Party that I see today. 'Holt got through things like the referendum for citizenship for Aboriginal people. He started to dismantle the White Australia policy. And the Child Endowment [Act] – Zara was so proud of that. Politics was very different back then.' Freeman was born in Lewisham, a notoriously rough part of South London that birthed the likes of Alexander McQueen and Sid Vicious. Another Lewisham native, Kate Bush, comes to mind when meeting Freeman, whose witchy sense of personal style features a lot of black. Her New Zealand dad and Papua New Guinea-born mum moved to Redcliffe when she was a toddler. Flunking out of high school to work at Big Rooster and sing in a covers band, she came into academia late after a stint in the public service. Her first tutorial in Elizabethan literature 'took the top of my head off'. 'I did a double major in medieval and early modern literature. The medieval literature has really stuck with me. That's the stuff that really makes my engines run.' She published her first Kim Wilkins novel in 1997 as an undergraduate. The Infernal, a reincarnation drama with witches, found an audience with the Anne Rice-Stephenie Meyer set. 'Under my own name, the books I write inevitably have something supernatural and dark and Gothic about them,' she explains. 'The Kimberley Freeman books, they're like adventure stories for women, and they're historical. They indulge my love of fashion from different periods, which is why I was so drawn to write about Zara.' As Freeman, her 2008 book Wildflower Hill, a multi-era novel in the mould of A.S. Byatt's Possession, almost broke her big, with translations into 20 different languages. 'I used to write like a book a year, and now that I've slowed down a bit, I'm enjoying it much more.' In writing about Zara's first marriage to a British army colonel, she had to invent most details as information was scarce. Zara's final marriage, to Macarthur MP Jeff Bate, is left offstage. As for Harold Holt, Freeman believes the PM was caught up in his 'own mystique'. 'There was that famous photo of him with his daughters-in-law – they were all in bikinis, and he was in a wetsuit going spear fishing. And he looked like James Bond.' As Freeman writes about them, the Holts are Australia's great prime ministerial love story. 'It's clear there were sexual fireworks, because they kept coming back together.' They had a sentimental attachment to Bingil Bay, North Queensland, where artist friends John and Alison Busst lived, and where they eventually owned a holiday house. Freeman admits her depiction of the Holts smoking marijuana there is sheer speculation. 'We don't know that the Holts smoked weed, but it was the '60s and I inferred that from the people that they were hanging around with. I just can't imagine that they didn't.'
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
What happened to Harold Holt? A new novel puts his widow in the spotlight
Kim Wilkins' eyes mist up suddenly. 'I'm going to get a little teary. It's just, Harold Holt's been a bit of a punchline. 'So when I read Zara's memoir, and she talks about the day that he disappears, I finally got that this was a real human being with children, grandchildren and a wife who had loved him for 40 years.' Dame Zara Holt's memoir, My Life and Harry, came out in the wake of the 1967 disappearance of Australia's 17th prime minister while he was swimming at Cheviot Beach in Portsea, Victoria. Toowong-based novelist Wilkins read it after a friend in publishing told her about Zara during a discussion of overlooked women in Australian history. 'This woman was incredible, and I barely knew about her,' Wilkins says. 'She was clever and entrepreneurial, and a really talented designer. She was 19 when she started her first fashion house with her best friend. 'I read her memoir and I thought, oh, there's a novel in this.' That novel is The Secret Year of Zara Holt, Wilkins' new book under her nom de plume, Kimberley Freeman. Wilkins – let's call her Freeman for clarity – is a University of Queensland academic who has somehow found the time to publish more than 30 novels under two names. Her new book covers the life of Zara, nee Dickins, from the night she met Holt at a college dance in Melbourne in 1927 until his fateful swim 40 years later. Speculation about Holt's fate has ranged from a Chinese spy submarine supposedly plucking him from Bass Strait to assassination by the CIA. Some believe he faked his death. Freeman weaves her own theory into her novel, based on what she learned about Zara and Harry's personalities and marriage. 'Harry obviously had commitment issues, and it's well known that he had multiple affairs, even after he and Zara were married. 'He was with his long-term mistress on the beach that day, but he was seeing many other women. No wonder he and [US president Lyndon B. Johnson] got on so well, because LBJ was exactly the same.' Magg, Zara's fashion boutique with friend Betty James, showcased a prodigious talent for design – a collection of her outfits is held at the National Gallery of Victoria. She also contributed to the war effort with innovative ideas while working for her father's food manufacturing business. She had three children before finally marrying Holt, then a rising star in Robert Menzies' cabinet. Zara would bring style to the role of prime minister's wife in the same way Jackie Kennedy added stardust to JFK's White House. Ultimately, she cut an equally tragic figure. Holt came to power when Menzies retired, won the 1966 election and governed for 22 months. His much-reviled 'all the way with LBJ' line outraged Australia's anti-Vietnam War movement. Still, Freeman did not expect to admire Holt's political career as much as she did. 'I'm a member of the Labor Party. And reading about Holt and Menzies blew my mind. That's not the Liberal Party that I see today. 'Holt got through things like the referendum for citizenship for Aboriginal people. He started to dismantle the White Australia policy. And the Child Endowment [Act] – Zara was so proud of that. Politics was very different back then.' Freeman was born in Lewisham, a notoriously rough part of South London that birthed the likes of Alexander McQueen and Sid Vicious. Another Lewisham native, Kate Bush, comes to mind when meeting Freeman, whose witchy sense of personal style features a lot of black. Her New Zealand dad and Papua New Guinea-born mum moved to Redcliffe when she was a toddler. Flunking out of high school to work at Big Rooster and sing in a covers band, she came into academia late after a stint in the public service. Her first tutorial in Elizabethan literature 'took the top of my head off'. 'I did a double major in medieval and early modern literature. The medieval literature has really stuck with me. That's the stuff that really makes my engines run.' She published her first Kim Wilkins novel in 1997 as an undergraduate. The Infernal, a reincarnation drama with witches, found an audience with the Anne Rice-Stephenie Meyer set. 'Under my own name, the books I write inevitably have something supernatural and dark and Gothic about them,' she explains. 'The Kimberley Freeman books, they're like adventure stories for women, and they're historical. They indulge my love of fashion from different periods, which is why I was so drawn to write about Zara.' As Freeman, her 2008 book Wildflower Hill, a multi-era novel in the mould of A.S. Byatt's Possession, almost broke her big, with translations into 20 different languages. 'I used to write like a book a year, and now that I've slowed down a bit, I'm enjoying it much more.' In writing about Zara's first marriage to a British army colonel, she had to invent most details as information was scarce. Zara's final marriage, to Macarthur MP Jeff Bate, is left offstage. As for Harold Holt, Freeman believes the PM was caught up in his 'own mystique'. 'There was that famous photo of him with his daughters-in-law – they were all in bikinis, and he was in a wetsuit going spear fishing. And he looked like James Bond.' As Freeman writes about them, the Holts are Australia's great prime ministerial love story. 'It's clear there were sexual fireworks, because they kept coming back together.' They had a sentimental attachment to Bingil Bay, North Queensland, where artist friends John and Alison Busst lived, and where they eventually owned a holiday house. Freeman admits her depiction of the Holts smoking marijuana there is sheer speculation. 'We don't know that the Holts smoked weed, but it was the '60s and I inferred that from the people that they were hanging around with. I just can't imagine that they didn't.'
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
'The stress brought the cancer on': 64yo woman scammed out of $223,000
Six months before Jenny Egan was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, she was scammed out of $223,000. Ms Egan, 64, was diagnosed on her birthday on May 7. She saw her doctor that day, who told her "there's a mass on your lung". "I was devastated," said Ms Egan, of Fishing Point in Lake Macquarie. She connected on social media with a man from the US last year. "He basically tricked her into investing money in cryptocurrency," Jenny's daughter Brittney Egan said. Brittney, 29, has set up a GoFundMe for her mum, titled "Jenny's lung cancer battle". "My mum means the world to me. She's not just a parent, she's also my best friend," she said. "She inspires me with her kindness and generosity. She's been knocked down many times and got back up. I believe she can do it again." Ms Egan shared her story to raise awareness to prevent others from being scammed. "He had my phone number and pressured me non-stop to add more money," she said. "I was suicidal when I realised I'd been scammed. I just think the stress has brought the cancer on." She was a smoker, but had never been in hospital before and felt healthy. Ms Egan reported the scam to police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The security centre's scam portal sends such reports to the police and/or the ACCC's ScamWatch. A National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said it had "referred the website to be assessed for takedown". "We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity via the Scamwatch service to support the disruption of scam networks." A nurse for 20 years at Wyong Hospital and in aged care, Ms Egan now works in patient transport. She was diagnosed with lung cancer after suffering from "pains in the right side of my chest". "I thought I'd pulled a muscle," she said. A doctor referred her for a CT scan. "I had five days of pain and each day the pain got less and less and then went," she said. She considered cancelling, but went because it was free. Her doctor, based at Tuggerah where Brittney works as a nurse, phoned the next day. She was referred to a respiratory physician in Gosford. "I had to go to hospital for a biopsy and bronchoscopy," she said. "The doctor said if it's not too bad, he'd do a resection of my lung. "Unfortunately, it was bad. He rang me a week later with the results and said it's inoperable." The doctor confirmed a tumour on her lung had spread to an adrenal gland and was a stage four cancer. She will begin radiation on the adrenal gland at Gosford Hospital on Wednesday. She will then have chemotherapy and further radiation for her lung. "I'm a mess, but I'm trying to stay at work. That's the only thing that keeps me sane and stops me from falling in a heap. "I try to think about other people and my job, rather than myself. I don't want to upset my kids." Her children, including son Chad, want her to "stay mentally strong because they believe that helps". "I'm a fighter and I'm not giving up," she said. Lake Macquarie Police began investigating after Ms Egan reported she had been scammed from August to November 2024. "As inquiries into the incident continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," a police statement said. "Police urge anyone observing suspicious online activity and unknown solicitation of investment opportunities to be cautious and consider fraud prevention advice." Six months before Jenny Egan was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, she was scammed out of $223,000. Ms Egan, 64, was diagnosed on her birthday on May 7. She saw her doctor that day, who told her "there's a mass on your lung". "I was devastated," said Ms Egan, of Fishing Point in Lake Macquarie. She connected on social media with a man from the US last year. "He basically tricked her into investing money in cryptocurrency," Jenny's daughter Brittney Egan said. Brittney, 29, has set up a GoFundMe for her mum, titled "Jenny's lung cancer battle". "My mum means the world to me. She's not just a parent, she's also my best friend," she said. "She inspires me with her kindness and generosity. She's been knocked down many times and got back up. I believe she can do it again." Ms Egan shared her story to raise awareness to prevent others from being scammed. "He had my phone number and pressured me non-stop to add more money," she said. "I was suicidal when I realised I'd been scammed. I just think the stress has brought the cancer on." She was a smoker, but had never been in hospital before and felt healthy. Ms Egan reported the scam to police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The security centre's scam portal sends such reports to the police and/or the ACCC's ScamWatch. A National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said it had "referred the website to be assessed for takedown". "We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity via the Scamwatch service to support the disruption of scam networks." A nurse for 20 years at Wyong Hospital and in aged care, Ms Egan now works in patient transport. She was diagnosed with lung cancer after suffering from "pains in the right side of my chest". "I thought I'd pulled a muscle," she said. A doctor referred her for a CT scan. "I had five days of pain and each day the pain got less and less and then went," she said. She considered cancelling, but went because it was free. Her doctor, based at Tuggerah where Brittney works as a nurse, phoned the next day. She was referred to a respiratory physician in Gosford. "I had to go to hospital for a biopsy and bronchoscopy," she said. "The doctor said if it's not too bad, he'd do a resection of my lung. "Unfortunately, it was bad. He rang me a week later with the results and said it's inoperable." The doctor confirmed a tumour on her lung had spread to an adrenal gland and was a stage four cancer. She will begin radiation on the adrenal gland at Gosford Hospital on Wednesday. She will then have chemotherapy and further radiation for her lung. "I'm a mess, but I'm trying to stay at work. That's the only thing that keeps me sane and stops me from falling in a heap. "I try to think about other people and my job, rather than myself. I don't want to upset my kids." Her children, including son Chad, want her to "stay mentally strong because they believe that helps". "I'm a fighter and I'm not giving up," she said. Lake Macquarie Police began investigating after Ms Egan reported she had been scammed from August to November 2024. "As inquiries into the incident continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," a police statement said. "Police urge anyone observing suspicious online activity and unknown solicitation of investment opportunities to be cautious and consider fraud prevention advice." Six months before Jenny Egan was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, she was scammed out of $223,000. Ms Egan, 64, was diagnosed on her birthday on May 7. She saw her doctor that day, who told her "there's a mass on your lung". "I was devastated," said Ms Egan, of Fishing Point in Lake Macquarie. She connected on social media with a man from the US last year. "He basically tricked her into investing money in cryptocurrency," Jenny's daughter Brittney Egan said. Brittney, 29, has set up a GoFundMe for her mum, titled "Jenny's lung cancer battle". "My mum means the world to me. She's not just a parent, she's also my best friend," she said. "She inspires me with her kindness and generosity. She's been knocked down many times and got back up. I believe she can do it again." Ms Egan shared her story to raise awareness to prevent others from being scammed. "He had my phone number and pressured me non-stop to add more money," she said. "I was suicidal when I realised I'd been scammed. I just think the stress has brought the cancer on." She was a smoker, but had never been in hospital before and felt healthy. Ms Egan reported the scam to police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The security centre's scam portal sends such reports to the police and/or the ACCC's ScamWatch. A National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said it had "referred the website to be assessed for takedown". "We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity via the Scamwatch service to support the disruption of scam networks." A nurse for 20 years at Wyong Hospital and in aged care, Ms Egan now works in patient transport. She was diagnosed with lung cancer after suffering from "pains in the right side of my chest". "I thought I'd pulled a muscle," she said. A doctor referred her for a CT scan. "I had five days of pain and each day the pain got less and less and then went," she said. She considered cancelling, but went because it was free. Her doctor, based at Tuggerah where Brittney works as a nurse, phoned the next day. She was referred to a respiratory physician in Gosford. "I had to go to hospital for a biopsy and bronchoscopy," she said. "The doctor said if it's not too bad, he'd do a resection of my lung. "Unfortunately, it was bad. He rang me a week later with the results and said it's inoperable." The doctor confirmed a tumour on her lung had spread to an adrenal gland and was a stage four cancer. She will begin radiation on the adrenal gland at Gosford Hospital on Wednesday. She will then have chemotherapy and further radiation for her lung. "I'm a mess, but I'm trying to stay at work. That's the only thing that keeps me sane and stops me from falling in a heap. "I try to think about other people and my job, rather than myself. I don't want to upset my kids." Her children, including son Chad, want her to "stay mentally strong because they believe that helps". "I'm a fighter and I'm not giving up," she said. Lake Macquarie Police began investigating after Ms Egan reported she had been scammed from August to November 2024. "As inquiries into the incident continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," a police statement said. "Police urge anyone observing suspicious online activity and unknown solicitation of investment opportunities to be cautious and consider fraud prevention advice." Six months before Jenny Egan was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, she was scammed out of $223,000. Ms Egan, 64, was diagnosed on her birthday on May 7. She saw her doctor that day, who told her "there's a mass on your lung". "I was devastated," said Ms Egan, of Fishing Point in Lake Macquarie. She connected on social media with a man from the US last year. "He basically tricked her into investing money in cryptocurrency," Jenny's daughter Brittney Egan said. Brittney, 29, has set up a GoFundMe for her mum, titled "Jenny's lung cancer battle". "My mum means the world to me. She's not just a parent, she's also my best friend," she said. "She inspires me with her kindness and generosity. She's been knocked down many times and got back up. I believe she can do it again." Ms Egan shared her story to raise awareness to prevent others from being scammed. "He had my phone number and pressured me non-stop to add more money," she said. "I was suicidal when I realised I'd been scammed. I just think the stress has brought the cancer on." She was a smoker, but had never been in hospital before and felt healthy. Ms Egan reported the scam to police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The security centre's scam portal sends such reports to the police and/or the ACCC's ScamWatch. A National Anti-Scam Centre spokesperson said it had "referred the website to be assessed for takedown". "We encourage all Australians to report suspicious scam activity via the Scamwatch service to support the disruption of scam networks." A nurse for 20 years at Wyong Hospital and in aged care, Ms Egan now works in patient transport. She was diagnosed with lung cancer after suffering from "pains in the right side of my chest". "I thought I'd pulled a muscle," she said. A doctor referred her for a CT scan. "I had five days of pain and each day the pain got less and less and then went," she said. She considered cancelling, but went because it was free. Her doctor, based at Tuggerah where Brittney works as a nurse, phoned the next day. She was referred to a respiratory physician in Gosford. "I had to go to hospital for a biopsy and bronchoscopy," she said. "The doctor said if it's not too bad, he'd do a resection of my lung. "Unfortunately, it was bad. He rang me a week later with the results and said it's inoperable." The doctor confirmed a tumour on her lung had spread to an adrenal gland and was a stage four cancer. She will begin radiation on the adrenal gland at Gosford Hospital on Wednesday. She will then have chemotherapy and further radiation for her lung. "I'm a mess, but I'm trying to stay at work. That's the only thing that keeps me sane and stops me from falling in a heap. "I try to think about other people and my job, rather than myself. I don't want to upset my kids." Her children, including son Chad, want her to "stay mentally strong because they believe that helps". "I'm a fighter and I'm not giving up," she said. Lake Macquarie Police began investigating after Ms Egan reported she had been scammed from August to November 2024. "As inquiries into the incident continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," a police statement said. "Police urge anyone observing suspicious online activity and unknown solicitation of investment opportunities to be cautious and consider fraud prevention advice."
