Donated holiday homes for breast cancer patients

Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust service manager Helen Alice. Photo / George Novak

The idea of a holiday is bumped down the priority list after someone is diagnosed with the big 'C'.

That's why the Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust has introduced a new service which offers patients a chance to relax in free or discounted accommodation.

Service manager Helen Alice said the idea was to offer someone who was near the end of their treatment, or in between treatments, three days away to "feed the soul and spirit".

Helen says breast cancer could have a huge personal and financial impact on families, with some patients having to give up their day job.

"It is an opportunity to rejuvenate and find some piece at a time that often has been a rollercoaster," she says.

The trust was seeking people who could offer affordable or free accommodation for cancer patients within the Bay of Plenty.

"It does not have to be too far away, but a lovely and peaceful place where they can restore the soul," Helen says.

"There is so much that has just gone on for people. It is a chance to find some peace and find yourself again."

There was about five holiday homes listed so far, and only one family had used the service.

"I think it is a great idea that has the potential to be a really good service for our clients," Helen says.

"People love to support and this is a way people can do it within their means. Different people will be able to offer different accommodation."

A 66-year-old Tauranga woman, who only wanted to be identified as Anne, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August last year.

"I was in denial. But you don't have time to stay in denial because it is all on. A cancer diagnosis really brings immediacy to everything," Anne says.

"It is not something you can articulate to someone else. It is a whole new world."

Then came treatment after treatment, emotion after emotion. Come April, Anne was exhausted.

"It was a rough ride," Anne says. "You are so debilitated, you are so tired. You have been doing this for months on end."

A kind stranger offered Anne free accommodation at Waihi Beach through the Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust's Rest and Recovery service.

The home had a big window where Anne could look out at the ocean.

"I spent entire days there. The sun just poured in. There is something very healing about being by the water. It was very uplifting," she said.

Anne said offering their holiday home for her to relax was "so generous".

"It is beyond words," she says. "You remove yourself from your day-to-day dealings with cancer and your treatments and just go and relax."

To offer your holiday home for the Rest and Recovery service, contact the Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust on (07) 571 3346.