Ten days after the diagnosis, Mr Vuletich's partner Rebecca Smith gave birth to their couple's first child - a baby girl called Amelia.
A Givealittle fundraising page for the family, set up by Ms Smith's father Russell on January 6, has received over $38,000. It will be used for additional private cancer treatment.
Tomorrow the couple of eight years will marry at a private location in Northland.
Although Mr Vuletich, 29, proposed only last Wednesday he said it was not long into their relationship that he realised he wanted to marry Ms Smith. "Just whenever I'm down she always lights up a room."
They described baby Amelia as a shining light in what otherwise had been the toughest 18 months of their lives.
Ms Smith, 35, said hearing her partner was once again fighting for his life was the worst news imaginable.
"They said it's not terminal but at the moment he's getting palliative care," she said
The couple said it was important to be united as a family going into the next stage of their lives.
Mr Vuletich, a winemaker by trade, was initially diagnosed with bowel cancer in July 2013 when the couple were living in Margaret River, Australia. While there he developed the Apple a Day Cider company - now widely recognised in Northland.
Mr Vuletich, his dad Mario and twin sister Maree all have Lynch Syndrome which means they have a high risk of developing bowel cancer.
Surgery in Australia removed most of the cancer but the couple had to return to Whangarei for Mr Vuletich to undergo chemotherapy.
However, that almost cost him his life. After almost completing the required cycles in February 2014, Mr Vuletich was lying in bed when he went into cardiac arrest.
Ms Smith performed CPR on him for about 20 minutes before an ambulance took him to hospital where he lay in an induced coma for 10 days.
"We were told by everybody that the outcome wasn't going to be good," Ms Smith said.
But Mr Vuletich defied the odds and by May had the all-clear, including permission from his doctor for them to finally start a family.
The family said they were just taking it day by day at this stage with Mr Vuletich starting chemotherapy again last week.
The couple said the support they had received was overwhelming.
"We're sitting in this little hospice room every day and there are all these people thinking of us," Ms Smith said.
They said they could not express just how much they appreciated everyone who helped put together their wedding in only 10 days, including Emma Rogers Photography and the team at Global Diamonds.
Ms Smith's mother and stepfather, Jackie and John Herkt, moved to Whangarei in April last year to support the couple. Mr Vuletich's father Mario had let them stay in a house on the family's Longview Estate property where he could use the winemaking facilities to continue the cider company. Mr Vuletich's mum Barbara had kept the family in constant supply of food parcels.
- To give to this family visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/richysfight