Mother of three Tahnee Goddard was first told she had one year to live but is now fighting to recover. Photo / Supplied
A mother of three is battling stage 4 lung cancer after she spent years searching for a diagnosis, which she was initially told she was “too young” for.
Matakana local Tahnee Goddard, a mother of a 13, 11 and 3-year-old, received the shock diagnosis just before Christmas in 2024 when she was 39.
Goddard, who now relies on a wheelchair for limited mobility, is a non-smoker, and her cancer was caused by random genetic changes that occur within cells.
Goddard said she was fighting with everything she had to spread awareness around lung cancer stigma and for time with her young family.
“My dream is to watch my babies and husband grow old in good health,” she said.
Goddard‘s close friend, Karis Uddenburg, told the Herald Goddard was given just six months to live, but now, over a year later, she urgently needs treatment to give her the best chance at recovery.
Goddard is currently in hospital after her health has recently declined.
“She’s been doing everything that she can possibly do, but she’s very weak at the moment, and a lot of the treatments haven’t worked,” Uddenburg said.
Uddenburg said the future is a scary thing for them to think about.
“Especially since she’s gone downhill so fast over this past couple of months. She’s not ready to stop fighting yet,” Uddenburg said.
Lung Foundation New Zealand said every year across the country, more people die of lung cancer than of breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma combined.
In a 2024 report by the Cancer Control Agency, more than half of all lung cancers are not diagnosed until an emergency department visit.
Uddenburg said in the years leading up to her friend’s diagnosis, Goddard had been seeking medical advice after experiencing ongoing pain and changes in her health.
She said Goddard did not have a cough, which is a symptom many people associate with the disease.
“She’d been going to the doctors numerous times ... no one could give her any sort of answers,” Uddenburg said.
It was only after her symptoms escalated that further investigations were carried out.
Uddenburg said when Goddard went to an emergency doctor, the medical staff noticed they could not hear anything on her left side.
She said Goddard was sent to hospital, where she was eventually diagnosed.
Since her diagnosis, the cancer has progressed aggressively, and Uddenberg said tumours have spread to other areas of her body, including her spine, where one tumour has compressed her nerves.
“About a month ago, she went to stand up, and her legs just wouldn’t work,” Uddenberg said.
She said her friend remains in significant pain, and another tumour is blocking a major blood vessel near her heart.
“There’s a high chance that she could have a heart attack before the stent gets put in,” Uddenburg said.
Despite everything, Uddenburg said Goddard remains focused on her children and maintaining normality for them as much as possible.
Uddenburg said her friend is a devoted mother and a loving wife, with her family at the heart of everything she does.
“She is incredibly strong. She’s always put her kids first, giving them experiences, travelling with them, and showing them the world.
“She has always lived a very healthy lifestyle, eating well and taking care of herself, which makes this even harder to comprehend,” Uddenburg said.
A Givealittle has been set up to help fund urgent treatment, with each round costing $10,269 and total expenses expected to exceed $100,000.
The page said the funds will go towards treatment and associated medical costs, including specialist appointments and medications.
Goddard and her husband, Satya, run Cafe Nectar and cosmetic tattoo studio Needle and Rose, based at Morris & James in Matakana.
Goddard said she wanted to thank everyone for their support and love towards her family.
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