Seventeen years ago, on 19 November, my life changed forever when a GP who I had never met told my husband Aron and I to prepare ourselves for the worst news possible. We thought he had diabetes… She then told us that he had multiple tumours in his lungs, liver and abdomen and it was terminal pancreatic cancer. He did not have long to live…

He was 34 years old and I was 32. I was 16 weeks pregnant with our first child, and we both had our whole lives and future together ahead of us. There is no way to describe the devastation of this moment… all of our lives as we knew them ended on that day. 

There was no one we could talk to who knew anything about what we were going through. The district nurses were amazing, and the Cancer Society offered some support, but there was no specific support available for those with pancreatic cancer. 

Aron passed away in March 2011, when Matthew was just 1 year old. Our journey was a tough one, but we had each other and our family who supported us, and of course life happens!! Matthew arrived and was our joy and focus, and somehow, we got through the tough times.

We fundraised this November to help a much-needed support service for patients with pancreatic cancer. To raise funds, our son Matthew, now 16 jumped out of a plane over lake Taupō at 15,000 feet to honour his dad, and in the process raised $3,585! Supporting him was his Stepdad, Robin Bisley, who married Lynne in 2023. Robin is also a cancer widower, losing his first wife to breast cancer. He was keen to support Matthew in this big adventure, and to help raise funds for further cancer support for families in need.