Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson opens up about her cancer journey

Marama Davidson was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Photo / Emily Chalk

After her gruelling fight with breast cancer, the Green Party co-leader reveals how she was “forced” into having the mammogram that saved her life.

This time last year, Marama Davidson had no idea her world was about to be turned upside down. As co-leader of the Green Party, there was work to be done, and she certainly didn’t have time to be sick. Yet in May 2024, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which sparked the most difficult period of her life.

“Nothing could have prepared me for cancer treatment,” she tells Woman’s Day. “I’d been a politician for a long time and I’d been an activist for even longer, so I knew what it was like to face massive challenges.

“I’d had adversity, moments of terror and deep traumatic crises at work. But none of that challenged my mental health like the sickness from cancer treatments. For a while, I just couldn’t see the light and I didn’t feel like I was going to be well ever again.”

Thankfully, a year on, it’s a different story. Marama, 51, is happy and healthy as she welcomes us into the South Auckland home she shares with her husband Paul, 52, who works for a charity, and their three youngest children, aged 19 to 16.

The pair have been married for over 25 years and also have three older children, aged 30 to 27, living nearby, as well as three young grandchildren, although Marama is keen to keep her family’s names out of the media because of recent security threats.

After enduring two operations, six months of gruelling chemotherapy and 15 radiation treatments, she is delighted to report she is cancer-free. She’s relieved to be back at work alongside her Green Party colleagues, commuting from her Auckland home to Wellington during the week and doing what she loves.

But there’s no doubt the experience has left its mark and that Marama has a new challenge on her hands – learning to take care of herself.

“That’s my biggest battle right now, figuring out how to do this job and focus on staying well. Politics is such an unhealthy lifestyle, but I’m absolutely committed to doing things differently this time.”

The Green Party co-leader had her first mammogram at 48. Photo / Emily Chalk

Marama is also determined to use her experience to spread the message about the importance of breast cancer screening. In New Zealand, women aged 45 to 69 are offered free mammograms every two years, but the politician admits she was late to sign up.

It was only after she was “shamed into it” by a breast cancer survivor at a Pink Ribbon fundraising breakfast that she finally had her first mammogram at 48. It was her second, two years later, that detected the cancer.

“What I want people to understand is that I’m only still here because it was found early,” she says. “And if I wasn’t on the screening register, if that amazing woman hadn’t forced me into going, it could be a totally different story. Mammograms are just so important.”

Marama admits her initial response to the diagnosis was one of “total denial”. She viewed the appointments and tests as a huge inconvenience. In her 10-year political career, in which she’s fought tirelessly on issues including domestic violence and poverty, she’d barely taken a day off and had never missed a caucus meeting. She foolishly told herself she’d be back at work after just a few weeks.

“I can see now that I was being ridiculous,” she reflects, explaining that the idea of not doing what she’d always done – advocating for the voiceless and working to create meaningful societal change – caused a crisis of confidence.

Without her work, advocacy and community engagement, she no longer knew who she was.

“I wasn’t thinking about the actual cancer at all. The tears I cried were all about my sense of identity and sense of purpose being threatened.”

Initially, Marama, who is of Ngāti Porou, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi descent, shared the news only with her sister and two colleagues, deciding not to tell Paul or their six kids until she had a clear treatment plan. She knows that might sound strange to some people, but she was determined to protect them until the last possible moment.

The cancer had spread to Marama's lymph nodes, pushing her from early stage one to stage two cancer. Photo / Emily Chalk

“Out of everyone in the universe who might feel the most threatened by this news, I knew it would be my children, so I wanted to have all the information and the whole plan worked out before I told them. I needed to make sure I could confidently tell them, ‘I’m going to be OK.’ I didn’t want to upset people or make them worry.”

Instead, Marama confided in National Party MP Nikki Kaye, who sadly lost her battle with breast cancer last November, aged 44. They might have had different political backgrounds, but Nikki became an incredible support, offering love, encouragement and advice as Marama faced the daunting prospect of treatment.

Marama was heartbroken when Nikki died.

“She was just such an amazing woman. She helped me so much, emotionally and practically, because she knew what it was like going through cancer while also having a public profile. She had excellent Netflix recommendations, too!”

While it was hoped she’d need just one operation – a partial mastectomy – and radiation, the surgery in June last year revealed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, pushing Marama from early stage one to stage two cancer.

She would need a second surgery and a gruelling chemotherapy regime, plus 10 more radiation treatments than originally planned. While she’d been warned about possible side-effects, the severity of the nausea, exhaustion and excruciating bone pain hit her like a bombshell.

“There was no dignity in it at all. There was no quality of life. It was just horrendous.”

Facing her mortality was confronting. Marama prepared her will, cleared out her files and ensured all her relationships with the people in her life were strong. “I needed to know that I’d done everything I needed to if I was going to die.”

Through it all, her family were her greatest allies. They brought food, made her tea, sat with her, took her to appointments and comforted her when she was at her sickest.

“Everyone stepped up big time,” she smiles. “My son carried me out of the car from surgery. My daughter did all the meal prep. They all came and had a turn sitting with me at chemo. It was scary for them because they were used to seeing a mum who just doesn’t stop, and suddenly I couldn’t even get out of bed. But they were incredible.”

Her mokopuna brought her enormous strength.

“They were at the centre of my healing. Someone would pop the baby into bed with me and we’d nap together. It was so lovely cuddling up with him, and it really helped to bring me out of the darkness.”

Marama's oncologist confirmed she was cancer-free in January. Photo / Emily Chalk

Time with whānau became the biggest silver lining of Marama’s cancer experience. Having sacrificed so much family time throughout her political life, it dawned on her that, even though she was unwell, being at home was a gift. Gratitude for her loved ones is what pulled her through, she says.

“I started to think, ‘Hey, when was the last time I was home for anyone’s birthday? When was the last time I was home for any weekends? When was the last time I could actually just be home and spend time with everyone?’ I became really grateful for all I have because I know there are lots of women going through this with no support at all.”

Marama, whose father is Whale Rider star and Māori rights activist Rawiri Paratene, also formed a deep solidarity with the breast cancer community, turning to online forums and spaces where people support each other. And another silver lining, she says, is her post-cancer hairstyle.

She’d been wanting to “go natural” for several years, but letting the grey grow out in the public eye felt awkward. “So at least that problem has been solved. I love this new look!”

Marama ended her treatment just before Christmas and her oncologist confirmed she was cancer-free in January. “It was the biggest relief of my life.”

Marama knows she’ll need to consider future drug regimes to ensure she remains free of cancer, and it’s a daunting thought, given the severity of her reaction to the chemo. So for the moment, she’s simply enjoying being well again.

Political life can be bruising, but Marama knows what she has to do to take care of herself – swimming, biking, taking her vitamins and getting enough sleep, plus daily lymphatic massage around her armpits and neck.

“My oncologist team was very clear that fatigue will be a problem and that, if we don’t manage things carefully, I will end up sick again. So I’m taking their advice and accepting a lot of help. I’m so lucky to have such amazing people in my life.”

To sign up for your free mammogram, phone BreastScreen Aotearoa on 0800 270 200 or go to info.health.nz. For more info on breast cancer, how to check for it, support with diagnosis and how you can help, visit breastcancerfoundation.org.nz.