A Whanganui whānau is rallying behind their mother, a pioneering New Zealand Army veteran, as she battles Stage 4 lung cancer and seeks support for a life-saving medication not funded in New Zealand.
Suzanne ‘Su’ Gingles made history in 1978 as one of the first women to serve in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment and was the first to complete Combats Corps Training, qualifying for the distinctive red diamond.
She then faced a fight lasting more than 40 years to be properly recognised as a woman for her military achievements.
Now, Gingles is fighting a different battle after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in April 2024.
She endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy with little success and severe side effects.
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Her daughter Sheilla Thomas said: “My mum tried everything that the doctors said, and she had no quality of life. We thought there had to be something else out there.”
The family discovered a targeted medication called Sotorasib, which is tailored to her specific gene mutation.
“All her symptoms went away, which was just incredible, and the next scan showed an improvement,” Thomas said. “We couldn’t believe it, we thought, ‘this is incredible, we’ve got to keep this going’.”
Sotorasib costs $11,500 per month and is not funded in New Zealand.
The family have been paying for the drug privately for eight months and recently launched a Givealittle page to help continue the treatment.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to cover the cost of the pills every month, it is important that we continue with them” , Thomas said.
Claiming recognition
Gingles is no stranger to fighting against the odds.
At her military graduation ceremony in the 1970s, no red diamond was presented to her despite her earning one, something she described as “totally out of the blue” and “emotionally upsetting”.
The details of why she did not receive the red diamond were unclear, traditional stereotypes of the time were challenged and there was disagreement about whether it should be awarded to a woman, the New Zealand Defence Force said.
She refused to give up until her achievements were properly recognised and, in 1995, she received a frame with a red diamond. Then in 2021, she was formally awarded her red diamond on parade at Burnham Military Camp.
Thomas hopes her mother’s story of battling cancer will, just like her fight against unequal treatment, inspire others to explore every option available when they need critical treatment.
“Just don’t give up. I feel like a lot of people will just listen to what’s available, but there are other things out there, they’re just not funded,” she said.
