Latest news with #Waaka
1News
6 days ago
- Health
- 1News
Former Black Fern fundraising after shock cancer diagnosis
Cheryl Waaka, a former Black Fern and a māmā to two teenagers, is now facing her toughest opponent yet, stage 4 bowel cancer. She was a fit and strong wāhine Māori hailing from Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahungunu, she's won two World Cups in the black jersey and is still dedicated to the game — but her diagnosis in June has left her stricken with sadness. "I was healthy, running around, doing my everyday job. It was King's birthday weekend. There was a Johnny Isaacs Māori tournament in Kaikohe. I was running the line, AR-ing, and three days later, I'm on the floor in excruciating pain." She remembers the day her life was changed forever. "I got my brother to get me to the GP in Kaikohe. Ambulance to Kawakawa. Ambulance to Whangārei and then that night, broke the news that I have a tumour in my bowel and I need to have emergency surgery. ADVERTISEMENT "I suppose I'm very lucky to my surgeon. He got the tumour, but unfortunately, it spread to my liver. In March, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the National Bowel Screening Age would be lowered for all New Zealanders from 60 to 58, a step he said would save hundreds of lives. The "redirected" funding was previously set aside for a pilot programme that allowed Māori and Pacific people to access bowel cancer screening starting at age 50. While Brown said the age of eligibility for free bowel screening was projected to prevent an additional 771 bowel cancers and an additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years, advocates called the move "institutionalised racism" as half of bowel cancers in Māori occurred before the age of 60. Waaka, who was up to date on all her health checks, said if the screening age was lowered to 50, her diagnosis would not have been stage 4. "If it didn't happen now, would [the tumor] have been still sitting there, and by the time I got to 58, if I got to 58, it might have been too late. "You look at me, strong, fit, healthy. It can happen to anyone. And I don't want it to happen to anyone." ADVERTISEMENT (Source: Photosport) And the effect ripples to her whānau, she recalled the moment she had to break the news to her two children. "I wouldn't like to wish that on anybody. Just myself to be told, and then to actually tell the kids. "I was trying to hold myself to be strong, as we do as wāhine. So that was one of the hardest moments of my life. I wouldn't wish that." The rates of early onset colorectal cancer have risen by 26% per decade on average over the past 20 years, according to University of Otago researcher Dr Oliver Waddell. Researchers and Māori health practitioners have called for the age to be lowered to 45 as it was in many other countries. "If we had [earlier] screening, I most probably wouldn't be costing the country money. ADVERTISEMENT "That's how I'm looking at it. If I was able to get screened at a younger age, you just imagine how much money this government will be saving in health costs," Waaka said. Bowel cancer treatment costs depended on when it was found — stage 1 being the cheapest and stage 4 is the most expensive. For Waaka, her bowel cancer has got into her liver and aside from rounds of chemotherapy, the non-funded drug she needs comes at a cost of $30,000. To start her first round of treatment on August 11, she is having to fundraise to survive. But Waaka said it's a big ask to turn to the community for funds. (Source: Photosport) "Life is hard, people are struggling and for me, I feel like I'm taken from the whānau. "And everyone said, you know, you've given so much, it's our time, but deep inside you know everyone's struggling to survive out there, and I'm just so grateful that people are willing to help me to survive and for me to fight this fight... which I'm going to do." ADVERTISEMENT She wanted her off-the-field legacy to be remembered as much as her on-the-field career. "I'm never one to ask for help, but I'm always giving. So for me, my legacy will be that I've given everything that I can, and hope I've just left something that will remind people of me." By Mihingarangi Forbes of
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Former Black Fern Cheryl Waaka battles stage 4 bowel cancer
'I got my brother to get me to the GP in Kaikohe. Ambulance to Kawakawa. Ambulance to Whangārei and then that night broke the news that I have a tumour in my bowel and I need to have emergency surgery. 'I suppose I'm very lucky to my surgeon. He got the tumour, but unfortunately, it spread to my liver.' In March, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the National Bowel Screening Age would be lowered for all New Zealanders from 60 to 58, a step he said would save hundreds of lives. The 'redirected' funding was previously set aside for a pilot programme that allowed Māori and Pacific people to access bowel cancer screening starting at age 50. While Health Minister Simeon Brown said the age of eligibility for free bowel screening is projected to prevent an additional 771 bowel cancers and an additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years, advocates are calling the move 'institutionalised racism' as half of bowel cancers in Māori occur before the age of 60. Waaka, who is up to date on all her health checks, said if the screening age were lowered to 50, her diagnosis would not have been stage 4. 'If it didn't happen now, would [the tumour] have been still sitting there, and by the time I got to 58, if I got to 58, it might have been too late. 'You look at me, strong, fit, healthy. It can happen to anyone. And I don't want it to happen to anyone.' And the effect ripples to her whānau, she recalled the moment she had to break the news to her two children. 'I wouldn't like to wish that on anybody. Just myself to be told, and then to actually tell the kids. 'I was trying to hold myself to be strong, as we do as wāhine. So that was one of the hardest moments of my life. I wouldn't wish that.' Calls grow to lower bowel cancer screening age to 45, as early-onset rates rise by 26% per decade. Photo / Getty Images The rates of early onset have risen by 26% per decade on average over the past 20 years, according to University of Otago researcher Dr Oliver Waddell. Researchers and Māori health practitioners have called for the age to be lowered to 45, as it is in many other countries. 'If we had [earlier] screening, I most probably wouldn't be costing the country money,' Waaka said. 'That's how I'm looking at it. If I was able to get screened at a younger age, you just imagine how much money this Government will be saving in health costs.' Bowel cancer treatment costs depended on when it was found – stage 1 being the cheapest and stage 4 is the most expensive. For Waaka, her bowel cancer has got into her liver, and aside from rounds of chemotherapy, the non-funded drug she needs comes at a cost of $30,000. To start her first round of treatment on August 11, she is having to fundraise to survive. But Waaka said it's a big ask to turn to the community for funds. 'Life is hard, people are struggling, and for me, I feel like I'm taken from the whānau. 'And everyone said, you know, you've given so much, it's our time, but deep inside you know everyone's struggling to survive out there, and I'm just so grateful that people are willing to help me to survive and for me to fight this fight... which I'm going to do.' She wants her off-the-field legacy to be remembered as much as her on-the-field career. 'I'm never one to ask for help, but I'm always giving. So for me, my legacy will be that I've given everything that I can, and hope I've just left something that will remind people of me.'
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Former Black Fern Cheryl Waaka left to fundraise for survival after shock cancer diagnosis
Photo: Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes Cheryl Waaka, a former Black Fern and a māmā of two teenagers, is now facing her toughest opponent yet, stage 4 bowel cancer. She was a fit and strong wāhine Māori hailing from Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kahungunu, she's won two world cups in the Black Jersey and is still dedicated to the game, but her diagnosis in June has left her stricken with sadness. "I was healthy, running around, doing my everyday job. It was King's birthday weekend. There was a Johnny Isaacs Māori tournament in Kaikohe. I was running the line, AR-ing, and three days later, I'm on the floor in excruciating pain." She remembers the day her life was changed forever. "I got my brother to get me to the GP in Kaikohe. Ambulance to Kawakawa. Ambulance to Whangārei and then that night broke the news that I have a tumour in my bowel and I need to have emergency surgery. "I suppose I'm very lucky to my surgeon. He got the tumour, but unfortunately, it spread to my liver." In March, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced the National Bowel Screening Age would be lowered for all New Zealanders from 60 to 58, a step he said will save hundreds of lives. The "redirected" funding was previously set aside for a pilot programme that allowed Māori and Pacific people to access bowel cancer screening starting at age 50. While Health Minister Simeon Brown said the age of eligibility for free bowel screening is projected to prevent an additional 771 bowel cancers and an additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years, advocates are calling the move 'institutionalised racism' as half of bowel cancers in Māori occur before the age of 60. Waaka, who is up to date on all her health checks, said if the screening age was lowered to 50, her diagnosis would not have been stage 4. "If it didn't happen now, would [the tumor] have been still sitting there, and by the time I got to 58, if I got to 58, it might have been too late. "You look at me, strong, fit, healthy. It can happen to anyone. And I don't want it to happen to anyone." And the effect ripples to her whānau, she recalled the moment she had to break the news to her two children. "I wouldn't like to wish that on anybody. Just myself to be told, and then to actually tell the kids. "I was trying to hold myself to be strong, as we do as wāhine. So that was one of the hardest moments of my life. I wouldn't wish that." The rates of early onset colorectal cancer have risen by 26 percent per decade on average over the past 20 years, according to University of Otago researcher Dr Oliver Waddell. Researchers and Māori health practitioners have called for the age to be lowered to 45 as it was in many other countries. "If we had [earlier] screening, I most probably wouldn't be costing the country money. "That's how I'm looking at it. If I was able to get screened at a younger age, you just imagine how much money this government will be saving in health costs," Waaka said. Bowel cancer treatment costs depended on when it was found - stage 1 being the cheapest and stage 4 is the most expensive. For Waaka, her bowel cancer has got into her liver and aside from rounds of chemotherapy, the non-funded drug she needs comes at a cost of $30,000. To start her first round of treatment on 11 August, she is having to fundraise to survive. But Waaka said it's a big ask to turn to the community for funds. "Life is hard, people are struggling and for me, I feel like I'm taken from the whānau. "And everyone said, you know, you've given so much, it's our time, but deep inside you know everyone's struggling to survive out there, and I'm just so grateful that people are willing to help me to survive and for me to fight this fight... which I'm going to do." She wants her off-the-field legacy to be remembered as much as her on-the-field career. "I'm never one to ask for help, but I'm always giving. So for me, my legacy will be that I've given everything that I can, and hope I've just left something that will remind people of me."
NZ Herald
13-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Te Teko RSA leaves national body to reclaim mana motuhake over Te Tiriti clash
The RNZRSA began work to change its constitution in 2022, and it was approved in April 2025. But dozens of clubs have threatened to leave if the constitution is passed, with concerns that the change would undermine the fundamental grassroots foundations. Waaka says the rewrite would have been the ideal time to add Te Tiriti o Waitangi to the new constitution. When the draft of the new constitution was completed in 2024, branch presidents nationwide had a chance to review it. Waaka says the constitution then had no mention of cultural interventions. At a meeting with members of the RNZRSA in Whakatāne in 2024, Waaka asked if the constitution would recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but the answer he received was vague. 'It was a waste of time. They weren't going to put it in because the majority of all of those presidents out there are mostly Pākehā, and maybe the sound of the Treaty would not be too their liking,' says Waaka. National RNZRSA national president Sir Wayne (Buck) Shelford says recognising Te Tiriti in the constitution would have been valuable, but it would be a long process. 'If you want it there, we have to take it to the whole of New Zealand and all the veterans, and they vote on it,' says Shelford. 'I would say that it would come up again, but then it's got to go to the vote, to the remit, put the remit in and go from there. Those are the sort of things that will take a long time.' Why should Te Tiriti be recognised? Among those commemorating Anzac this year in Te Teko, in memory of her koro, is lawyer Tania Waikato. She was in full support of the decision for Te Teko to break away from the RSA. 'Our firm has just recently been involved in the Waitangi Tribunal hearings on the Veterans Inquiry, and the inequality and injustices that our Māori veterans have faced for a very long time are very apparent. So for me, a decision like this just showed leadership and it's an expression of mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga here.' Waikato says one of the most telling issues affecting Māori veterans and whānau in the Te Teko area is land allocations that were given to Pākeha soldiers, but not to Māori soldiers when they returned from war. 'If you go through the drive, literally just 3km that way, there are roads called Soldiers Settlement Rd … that are on whenua that was confiscated from our people and then given to Pākehā soldiers while our Māori soldiers missed out,' says Waikato. 'We've got three marae within about a 500m space of each other because we were landless and we were shoved into these tiny little pockets of land that were really left over. So for me, growing up here, it's a very stark reminder that our soldiers were not treated equally, even though they gave the ultimate sacrifice.' Constitution's legal requirements The idea to rewrite the new constitution came about in 2022 after the RNZRSA's National Council identified the need to change how they deliver support to ensure the RSA movement has a sustainable future. The new constitution addresses legal requirements outlined in the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 to ensure the RNZRSA operates within the legal framework. Shelford says: 'There's no arguing about it. This is what they've put in, and so we've got all those in there, and we just updated our constitution to modernise it so people could read it.' But some clubs have been upset about what they see as the high-handed way it's been done. Some have interpreted head office as characterising them as booze and gambling dens being mismanaged by non-service personnel as opposed to supporting the found principles. 'The RSAs themselves were a great idea, but the ideas are struggling now,' says Shelford. 'A lot of people are not drinking now. The price of alcohol is right through the roof.' Name, emblems and building Shelford says if any local RSA branches want to leave the national body, they will not be allowed to use the RSA emblems and symbols. 'If you break away, you're by yourself and you're just looking after your own people, which is fine. You can look after your own people, but you just cannot use the names and the RSA letters in your new name if you're going to have a new Māori name.' The new name of the Te Teko club is Te Hokowhitu a Tū ki Te Teko Returned Services League (RSL), the name of the first Māori Contingent of World War I signifying warriors of the war god, Tūmatauenga. Waaka says: 'That name is honoured … We are here for a real purpose, to commit the memory and remember them forever, the flag and a logo of those 500 soldiers that died, and some came back.' In addition, the new Te Teko RSL owns all its assets. Their buildings were gifted and are on land that is leased. To look after veterans and their whānau, Waaka already took matters into his own hands by signing a contract with local Māori health authority, Te Puna Ora o Mataatua, to deliver healthcare services to the community. 'Now we get free visits and doctors. They take us to our special appointments. Kāore he utu (there is no cost). And now we can have mirimiri, kāore he utu. Doctors visits. Kāore he utu.' Waaka says the club will be open to other kaupapa as well. 'We come here for eight-ball tournaments. We open this club up for weddings, birthdays, for cooks when they finish the tangi to come and relax. This is not just an RSA, this is a building for the whole community.' Waaka says despite leaving the RNZRS, he will always continue to support other local RSA in the Mātaatua rohe and nationwide. 'Our bonds of comradeship will always remain,' he says.
NZ Herald
23-04-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
RoofBuddy, fronted by The Bachelor's Art Green, faces home owner claims of ‘reckless' activity
Waaka said his job was plagued by delays, poor communication and what he regarded as 'substandard roofing practices which left our home with extensive water damage, resulting in the collapse of our master bedroom ceiling'. He said he felt that he had been chased aggressively for a deposit and progress payment but once that was made, there was no accountability. 'Once our job was 'complete' they did not send an independent quality assessor to check the quality of the work as advertised on their social media platforms.' Within six months, the product started to deteriorate and even with a third coat, it did not improve. The roof was still leaking and had destroyed the ceiling in the house's office, Waaka said. He was working with his insurance company to determine what he could claim. Waaka said he did not want RoofBuddy involved with the fix now because in his opinion they had had been 'reckless'. He had been told he would need a full reroof, which could cost up to $40,000. He said he felt that the quotes offered for reroofing through the portal were inflated to make the membrane look like the best option. Waaka said, since he posted about his problem online, he had received messages from a number of other people who had been affected. Roofing Association of New Zealand chief executive Luke Boustridge said he was 'deeply concerned' by the claims about RoofBuddy. It is not a member of the association. 'We've received a number of calls and emails from concerned homeowners and roofing professionals in recent weeks, and we've seen the same emerging on social media. We can't investigate non-members, but we are taking the wider implications seriously. This is not just about one company - this is about protecting the public and restoring trust in the roofing profession.' He said when confidence in roofing services was undermined it affected the whole industry. He said the licensed building practitioner scheme, which requires people to be licensed to carry out work on homes, did not apply to those involved in residential reroofing. 'Even though re-roofing represents a significant portion of the work happening on Kiwi homes. That's something we believe urgently needs to change. We've long advocated for the LBP scheme to be expanded to include all roofing work, not just new builds or structural components. The risks to safety, durability, and consumer confidence are just as high - if not higher - when re-roofing is done poorly. 'Until those regulations catch up, consumers remain exposed.' Green referred queries to RoofBuddy chief executive James Logan. Logan said his organisation had no influence on pricing submitted by service providers on its platform. He said it was not unreasonable that the quote to reroof Waaka's house was high. 'Our advice was given that re-roofing was the most suitable option for the property. Given the nature of the substrate …and the brittle quality of the terracotta tiles along with the fact that house had been relocated; it was advised that re-roofing would be the best option of the two presented, however, the customer was budget constrained and wished to proceed with the restoration quote from Life Time Roofing.' He said the QA check had not yet been done because the work had not been completed by Life Time to the quoted specifications. 'Without consulting us, Life Time Roofing were able to persuade the customer to pay their final invoice despite the absence of our QA sign off. We strongly advise all our customers against this action.' Logan said mechanical repairs and carpentry were overlooked and not attended, leaving the structure vulnerable to water ingress. 'Secondly correct preparation, priming and application processes were not followed and this caused an adhesion problem with the membrane, resulting in the product peeling and blistering. These issues were clearly evident and my efforts subsequently had been directed to compel Life Time Roofing to return to the property and complete the mechanical repairs, carpentry requirements and correctly reapply the membrane coating. Once this had been done we were standing by to complete the QA check.' Logan said he took responsibility for not following up 'diligently enough' to ensure the matter had been dealt with and not making a direct intervention sooner under RoofBuddy's customer warranties. 'RoofBuddy's customer warranties are the provisions under which we ensure the quoted works are completed at the quoted price and those protections should have been activated much sooner. Those are the protections I'm attempting to activate in the customer's favour now.' Alex Anderson, director at Life Time Roofing, said his organisation took full responsibility for the experience. 'Regardless of the contributing factors, we understand that expectations were not met, and that the client has been left feeling unsupported. That is not in line with the values we stand for, and I want to be clear that we are committed to making things right. 'We had a date booked to return to site on 16 April, and while we were prepared to carry out the required remedial work, we understand and respect the client's current decision to pause further site access while their insurance process is under way. We will remain available and ready to return as soon as that process allows. 'In our commitment to supporting the client, Life Time Roofing has already covered the full replacement of the ceiling, along with associated plastering and painting, in the only affected room. This work was completed at no cost to the client as a gesture of goodwill, aimed at restoring comfort and livability while a long-term solution is arranged. 'We are also working closely with RoofBuddy to ensure the client receives a full and lasting resolution. We're aligned in our desire to deliver the best possible outcome here and are both willing to contribute toward that. Life Time Roofing is prepared to contribute substantially toward whatever remedy Ed and his family determine is the most suitable path forward. We want to see this resolved in a way that restores both their home and their peace of mind.' He said Life Time Roofing no longer had a working relationship with RoofBuddy.
