“She’s always been a real giver, and I think it’s hard for her to be on the receiving end of a lot.”
Moulds said he has early memories of travelling to Whangārei with his mum and seeing the volunteers collecting on Daffodil Day.
“It took me till a bit later to really understand how valuable that is – people giving up their time to try and raise funds to help people going through cancer or to put into research with new technology and new ways to fight cancer.
“I know for my Aunty, some new technology is really giving her hope, and hope is massive.”
For Evans, the one in three Kiwis with cancer was his grandfather, who had melanoma and died at age 54 when Evans was just a baby.
“Mum says he was quite the fisherman. He was the fixer of the family.
“It’s tough ‘cause hearing all these things about him, how much love they had for him – it was tough for them to go through that, but those memories really make me wish he was here still.”
Hallam-Eames said he is proud to do his bit to support the Cancer Society.
“They were a huge help in my life when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer nine years ago, so I jumped at the opportunity to raise awareness because I know how valuable they could be in someone else’s life.”
Hallam-Eames said it was tough to see his mum “vulnerable and hurting” and he still vividly remembers the day she was told she had cancer.
“We had a good family support group but beyond that, there were still many unknowns – around what were the treatment options, if we couldn’t take her to an appointment how would she get there, and even stuff after the cancer left relating to cosmetic stuff, like wigs.
“There were definitely some grey areas in the process and that’s where the Cancer Society really helped us out.”
Hallam-Eames said the Cancer Society “unblurred the situation” and helped both his mum and his family navigate her diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
Since then, Daffodil Day has taken on new meaning to him.
“I want to raise a wee bit of awareness and just tell Kiwis to support Daffodil Day and get out there, do as much as you can, because more likely than not someone in your family will probably be in this situation one day in their lives.”
Daffodil Day Donations can be made at daffodilday.org.nz, at any ANZ branch in August, or during the street appeal today and tomorrow.
