“Basically what the health system is saying to me is, that’s it. You’re done.” That is the reality Mike Oliver is grappling with as he battles an incurable blood cancer.
Oliver is calling for better access to life-extending treatments after being told the option that could give him more time is not funded in New Zealand.
Now, he and his wife Nicky are preparing to travel to China, where the treatment could cost between $125,000 and $400,000.
“There’s a lot of Kiwis in the same position – spending a fortune to go overseas and get treatment because it’s just not available here,” he said.
In May last year, the 48-year-old father-of-two from West Melton was living a normal life when persistent back pain began to take hold.
“I had quite a bit of back pain for probably two or three months . . . and, you know, as a good Kiwi bloke, I just ignored it,” he said.
When holidaying in Fiji the pain became unbearable, so he decided to seek help.
Within weeks after a series of tests, Oliver was diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a blood cancer affecting plasma cells in the bone marrow.
“He sat me down and gave me that message you never want to hear – you’ve got cancer.
“It just felt surreal. S**t, I’m actually sitting here being told that I’ve got cancer . . . and by the way, it’s incurable.”
He began treatment through the public system, undergoing months of induction therapy – an initial form of chemotherapy. He also privately funded an additional drug to give himself the best chance.
“It was quite an arduous sort of process. Some have an easy ride, some don’t,” he said.
Oliver spent three weeks recovering in Christchurch Hospital following the transplant and was back at work after a few months of recovery.
Initially, the treatment appeared to be working.
However, earlier this year, pain in his torso led to further scans, which revealed a more aggressive form of cancer known as non-secretory myeloma – a type that does not show up on standard blood tests.
Now Oliver is on what doctors say is the final funded treatment option available in New Zealand.
While he praises the care he has received from specialists, he said the health system itself is falling short.
“The options for blood cancer are just so limited. There’s almost no recognition of it.”
Specialists have told him CAR T-cell therapy offers his best chance of survival, but it is not publicly available in New Zealand.
Dr Alicia Didsbury, an Auckland researcher leading efforts to bring CAR T-cell therapy to New Zealand, said Oliver’s situation is becoming increasingly common.
She said patients are often forced to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to access treatment overseas – something many simply cannot do.
“It’s terrible. We have families contacting us every week saying they’ve reached the end of their treatment options.”
Didsbury’s project aims to make these therapies more accessible and affordable but says significant funding and system changes are needed. For Oliver, the focus now is on getting overseas as quickly as possible. The family has launched a Givealittle page, supported by a wave of community fundraising.
“It’s been totally humbling. It’s hard to ask for help, but the support has been overwhelming,” Oliver said.
Friends, family and even strangers have helped.
“I just want time with my family. You get told you have this incurable disease – what keeps me going is just wanting to see my girls as long as I can.”
• To donate to Oliver’s Givealitte head to: shorturl.at/jCnIJ
• To watch the video on Metro News head to:shorturl.at/2yrth
