Orewa Local Gets #GutsyForGutCancer Running 161km In Under 24 Hours
In late November 2024 when Neville Modlin's father casually mentioned he was feeling 'a little under the weather' their family had no idea that his funeral would be held on New Years Eve that same year. Neville's father passed away only 6 weeks later after a short and intense journey with pancreatic cancer which is becoming one of New Zealand's deadliest cancers with 88% of Kiwis passing away within 5 years of diagnosis.
Neville says 'the speed that everything progressed for my dad was totally unexpected.' Within 10 days they were planning the estate, after 15 he became an expert in cancer medication and in 30 he was organising fulltime care and planning a funeral. Not to mention supporting his mum throughout the process who was navigating losing her life partner of over 60 years.
Neville channelled his grief into action, taking on his biggest personal challenge in part of The Gut Cancer Foundation's #GutsyForGutCancer raising critical funds and awareness for Kiwis battling gut cancer.
'What began as a personal challenge became a public journey. I never expected the magnitude of what unfolded, besides the first 4km I was never alone' Neville says. Even at 3am he had local runners coming out to show their support and run alongside him, some whom he had never met before.
Neville and his family have been blown away by the communities support both on the day and in the fundraising campaign as they've now surpassed their initial fundraising goal by almost 6 times!
Like many New Zealanders Neville didn't know much about gut cancers when his father was diagnosed, 'because he went downhill so fast there was little support – We were figuring it out one day at a time.'
Liam Willis, Executive Officer of The Gut Cancer Foundation (GCF) highlights that gut cancer is the most common form of cancer in New Zealand with over 6,100 Kiwis diagnosed every year. 'They have some of the worst survival rates of any cancers;' 8 Kiwis die from gut cancer every day.
The GCF funds innovative research, addresses barriers to treatment and is particularly focused on improving experiences similar to Neville's by establishing a comprehensive pipeline to support Kiwis with access to vital resources throughout the cancer journey for patients and whanau.
Liam shares the GCF has created an online hub of resources that is a comprehensive source of information for anyone diagnosed with a gut cancer, adding 'our team are on hand to answer questions they or their whanau may have.' 'We are committed to developing this service to ensure we meet the need of our community and no one has to face a gut cancer diagnosis alone."
The generosity of the GCF supporters and donations help gives New Zealanders access to international clinical trials and allows the foundation to continue to be the voice for our communities. 'By raising awareness of signs, symptoms and specific risk factors we hope to see these cancers detected earlier, increasing the chances of patients surviving their diagnosis.' says Liam.
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