Wairarapa’s locally owned community newspaper
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2019
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Misdiagnosed, but fighting on Emily Ireland Masterton artist Michelle Dykstra is a fighter. In January this year she was diagnosed with terminal cancer – invasive ductile carcinoma and inflammatory breast cancer – after earlier being misdiagnosed with plasma cell mastitis. She was given a few months to live without treatment, or to the end of the year with chemotherapy and radiation. She chose neither option – opting instead to travel to Thailand for integrated cancer treatment not offered in New Zealand. She and her family hoped this would give her the best chance to live out her life as healthily and as pain-free as possible. The treatment, offered by Verita Life Thailand incorporates low-dose chemotherapy enhanced by hormone, biological treatment, viral immune therapy, and herbal medicine, among other therapy. But it has come at a high financial cost. Michelle has recently returned from her second treatment trip and has been overwhelmed by the support the Wairarapa community has offered – more than $7000 has been raised for her treatment through a page on Givealittle. But the most special act of support has been from the Masterton Fire Service, where her husband Chris Peterson is employed as a career firefighter. The fire station has collated a colouring-
in book of Michelle’s artwork to sell in order to raise funds for her treatment. This project has been led by firefighter Jodie Kjestrup with help from Printcraft + Design Hive in Masterton. The book is being sold at Hedley’s Bookshop, Paper Plus, ConArt, and the Wairarapa Times-Age for $20 (cash only if buying from the Times-Age). At the moment, Michelle does not know what her prognosis is following the second round of her treatment in Thailand. “It’s an incredibly aggressive cancer and it doesn’t muck around,” she said. “All I know is how I feel coming back. “When I went over this last time I was having to have morphine to get over there, and once the treatment started, I could come off it again.” Michelle, who grew up in Carterton, is a self-taught artist. Continued on page 3
Michelle Dykstra, right, with her husband Chris Peterson and sister Anita Dykstra. Michelle is holding the fundraising colouring-in book. PHOTO/EMILY IRELAND