Tracey Wright has spent decades caring for the most vulnerable patients at Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital, but she never imagined what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a terminal prognosis. In a report published by 1News, the neonatal intensive care unit nurse revealed she is preparing to travel to Shanghai for treatment after exhausting her options in New Zealand following a third cancer diagnosis.
Wright’s medical ordeal began in June 2023 when she discovered two lumps in her groin. After a two-week monitoring period advised by her general practitioner, the masses grew, and a subsequent biopsy confirmed large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a fast-growing blood cancer attacking the lymphatic system. A six-month regimen of R-CHOP chemotherapy successfully drove the disease into remission.
The respite proved temporary. In August 2025, exactly a day before a routine three-month check-up with her haematologist, Wright found a lump on her neck. Biopsy results confirmed the cancer had returned, prompting a grueling second round of chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant.
“During that chemo I just felt like I got hit by a brick, just the awful side effects and everything,” Wright told 1News.
While subsequent blood tests cleared, her bone marrow failed to recover normal white blood cell counts, leaving her vulnerable to infection. Just nine months after entering her second remission, vision disturbances at work signaled an even graver development. Emergency department scans revealed a brain tumor.
“She said, ‘you’ve got a brain tumour’ and brought up the scans and then I was just like ‘oh my god’,” Wright said.
Facing the Limits of Domestic Care
New Zealand medical professionals told Wright that standard domestic treatments would likely offer only temporary palliation rather than a cure. Because the tumor sits behind the blood-brain barrier, conventional chemotherapy struggles to penetrate the central nervous system effectively. Without intervention, doctors estimated she had weeks to months to live.
While Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is available domestically through clinical trials—such as one currently underway at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research—Wright’s specific presentation and exhausted local options led her to look internationally. She now plans to travel to Shanghai to undergo CAR-T cell therapy, which is not currently available in New Zealand.
Domestic options were deemed insufficient to secure long-term remission. “If I was to have treatment here, it was basically only to help give me a bit more time,” Wright noted.
Community Support Funds Overseas Journey
Recognizing the substantial financial hurdles of seeking specialized care abroad, Wright’s daughter established a Givealittle fundraising page to cover expenses. The response from the local community and families whose children Wright once cared for in the NICU proved swift and overwhelming.
By early November, the page had just under $70,000 in donations. For a nurse accustomed to offering comfort during families’ darkest hours, accepting charity proved deeply humbling.
“Just the love and support, and it’s just been incredible and families that I’ve looked after their kids, and even some of son’s school friends have donated,” Wright said. “It’s really, really lovely that people have been so supportive. It’s blown me away.”
