A Fresh Zealand man with terminal blood cancer is receiving life-saving treatment in Australia after exhausting all funded options in his home country, a case that has prompted a chorus of doctors to publicly implore the New Zealand government to improve access to vital medications.
Tawhai Reti, 37, was diagnosed with myeloma in 2019. After undergoing two stem cell transplants and completing the last drug treatment covered by New Zealand’s healthcare system, his condition rapidly deteriorated. He developed pneumonia and sepsis in December and was told he had only weeks to live, according to reporting from RNZ and the Otago Daily Times.
Reti and his wife, Lani, made the difficult decision to relocate to Australia, where the drug daratumumab – known as “dara” – is funded and accessible through Medicare. Reti, who previously lived and worked in Australia during remission, qualified for coverage. He received his first dose of the drug last week.
“I can’t notify you how many tears we had when we found out that he was accepted for dara,” Lani Reti told Checkpoint. “It’s something that we’ve been fighting for such a long time and trying to spread awareness about and writing letters to the government to try and push for this so that we didn’t have to leave home. And within four weeks of being in Australia, he received his first dose.”
The move, still, has come at a significant personal cost. The Retis were forced to leave their four children behind in New Zealand, in the care of Reti’s sister. “We’ve always sort of been a pretty close family… I see them every day, every night, every morning, know everything about them. Now it’s sort of just on the end of a phone,” Reti said.
A Givealittle page created by the family to help cover expenses during their time in Australia has raised over $1,870, but funds are dwindling. Lani Reti is preparing to return to New Zealand next week to resume work and support their children, leaving Tawhai to continue treatment alone.
“We have a mortgage, we have bills like everybody else, we also have four children at home,” Lani Reti explained. “Sadly, I do have to come home.”
The case has ignited a debate over drug funding in New Zealand, with 35 doctors, nurses, and clinician researchers signing an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, calling for urgent action. The letter, coordinated by haematologist Professor Judith Trotman, highlights the “unnecessary loss of Kiwi lives” due to limited access to treatments readily available elsewhere.
Professor Trotman, who is treating Reti in Sydney, noted that myeloma disproportionately impacts Māori and Pacifica patients. She emphasized that improving survival rates hinges on access to modern drug treatments. “I commend my patient and his wife on their grace and tenacity in facing this painful, progressive cancer,” she said.
The letter calls for increased funding for medicines considered “standard of care” internationally, pointing out that New Zealand spends only 0.4 percent of its GDP on pharmaceuticals, compared to the OECD median of 1.4 percent. It also proposes the creation of a taskforce to address blood cancer treatment in New Zealand and increased support for clinical trial research.
Auckland haematologist Dr. Rory Bennett, a signatory of the letter, expressed his frustration with the current state of blood cancer therapy in New Zealand. “We feel that there’s a clear gap between the standard of care that One can deliver here in New Zealand compared with what is achieved overseas, and that gap that is well established is continuing to widen,” he told Checkpoint.
Health Minister Simeon Brown stated that improving cancer treatment is a key priority for the government, citing a recent $27.1 million investment in stem cell transplant services and ongoing efforts to recruit blood cancer specialists. He encouraged New Zealand doctors working overseas to consider returning home.
Lani Reti urged the government to heed the call of healthcare professionals and address the systemic issues that force patients to seek treatment abroad. “I really request them to take into consideration the 21,000 blood cancer sufferers in New Zealand that are dying every day due to the fact that of the lack of funding, because of the lack of standard care. I would just strongly urge them to take this letter seriously, take us seriously and start listening and putting things in place for people to continue to be able to live long lives.”
