All Black Sam Cane donates test jersey to help Napier woman fund life-saving cancer treatment

Signed All Blacks jersey worn by Sam Cane.

All Black Sam Cane is auctioning off his 54th test jersey to help a 60-year-old Napier woman fund her life-saving cancer treatment.

Julia McNicol is battling a rare and aggressive skin cancer, and the treatment drug Keytruda that could cure her of the disease isn't funded by the Government.

The mother-of-four needs $83,000 to fund 17 infusions of the drug.

Cane, who has played with Julia McNicol's son Sam McNicol for the Chiefs, has already received 75 bids since the jersey was posted on Trade Me on Monday.

The leading bid was sitting at $3150, as of Wednesday night. The auction was expected to close tomorrow at 8pm.

McNicol's shocking diagnosis was discovered earlier this year after a cut on her finger, from an accident in the kitchen, wouldn't heal.

Napier mother-of-four needs $83,000 to fund life-saving cancer treatment drug Keytruda.

She underwent surgery to partially amputate her finger and a lymph node was removed from her armpit in April.

A biopsy from this operation confirmed that Jules had stage 3 Acral Melanoma.

The medical advice McNicol received was for her to commence a 12-month treatment of the new cancer drug Keytruda, but she would have to fund it herself.

The treatment was fully-funded by Pharmac for people with advanced stage 3-4 melanoma, which has spread and cannot be removed by surgery.

But for McNicol, whose cancer had not yet spread, the drug costed $69,000, and $790 would also need to be paid for each of the 17 infusions given every three weeks.

A Givealittle page has also been created for McNicol's treatment and has raised over $50,000, as of Wednesday night.

McNicol's brother said the family had received an overwhelming response and were grateful to Cane for his support.