Ruth Spearing Cancer Research Trust
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BNZ Bank account details:
Name of Account: The Ruth Spearing Cancer Research Trust
Account Number: 02-0800-0899720-066
Please email mike.bridget@xtra.co.nz with your deposit details so we can provide you with a donation receipt for tax purposes.
Charity Commission Registration Number is CC40167
Thank you to our donors
We are extremely grateful to all of our donors, big and small, from over the years that enable the research projects to come to life.
Austin was first diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 1992 and had Ruth as his consultant/specialist for 24 years before passing away in September 2016.
When first diagnosed he received some treatment but generally kept good health for 13 years. After a relapse, treatment was regular and without Ruth's expertise and use of some research drugs his life would not have been extended another 11 years.
"The support, care and advice received from Dr Ruth Spearing and her team was invaluable and as a family we are pleased to support this research trust."
Austin
Richard
Richard was diagnosed in January 2016 with a rare mix of two types of leukaemia cells (AML and ALL) and we were very fortunate to be under the care of Dr Ruth Spearing.
Ruth's experience in this field and with treating other patients in a similar situation, gave us the positivity to move forward with this journey.
She never left a stone unturned and has wonderful support from her colleagues, not only here in New Zealand but overseas too. She called on them for advise and guidance, and is very aware of where the research is heading, particularly with new drugs and new treatments.
She is a very knowledgeable and dedicated specialist in her field.
The care, expertise and support from Dr Ruth Spearing and her colleagues was truly valuable and appreciated by us all as a family.
We need to support the Ruth Spearing Cancer Research Trust, as they need to keep making these steps forward - we need to find a cure for this disease and this can only be done with research and financial support.
"Only through research will we find the cure"
Allan
Allan Ladbrook was born into a farming family in Southland. As he was an only child, on leaving school he was expected to come home and work on the farm. He had a thirst for knowledge and his ability to retain numbers in particular, was invaluable in the Romney Stud sheep world. He had a passion for classical music and had a beautiful tenor voice which was heard in local musicals and choirs and he also played the Church organ for a number of years.
It was late 2010 when Allan’s Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia was diagnosed by Dr Ruth Spearing.
From that initial visit she was vigilant at every turn for his general wellbeing and followed up any signs or symptoms that changed along the way. She persevered above and beyond and we are very thankful for her expertise and dedication in respect of Allan who was able to continue living a reasonably full life for several more years, much longer than it might have been without the commitment of the team at Haematology.
We feel blessed for the friendship and care Ruth offered throughout Allan’s illness and his wife, Mavis and their family of four, are honoured to support the ongoing Cancer Research in her name.
Howard
Howard Andrew was born in the USA in 1958 and went to South Africa as an AFS student when he was eighteen. He fell in love with the country and completed his veterinary science degree in Pretoria in 1982 and married Carolie in the same year.
They moved to Zimbabwe where their four children were born and later emigrated to New Zealand in 1994 where Howard worked at Riverside Vets in Ashburton and later for MAF at the local meat processing plant.
In 2013 Howard was diagnosed with CLL for which he had a stem cell transplant in 2015 as a patient of Ruth Spearing. Howard weathered the first two years quite well, but his blood platelet counts plummeted when he developed toxicity to cyclosporine mid 2017.
Fortunately, the damage was not permanent and he made a miraculous recovery enough to walk his youngest daughter down the aisle in 2018. Howard worked hard to regain his strength by cycling and swimming when he could.
He was a very diligent patient, taking great care to look after himself. He also participated in registrar examinations as a volunteer patient, at Canterbury university.
In 2019 Howard was privileged to receive ECP treatment in Melbourne at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. However, in 2020 the covid pandemic stalled the treatments and Howard's health deteriorated significantly.
By the time treatment recommenced in January of 2021 Howard had developed serious lesions on his feet from GVHD, which became infected. He spent six months in Melbourne in and out of hospital, unable to travel back and forth, battling the pseudomonas infection in his feet which needed cleansing and bandaging everyday. It was with great effort that the medical teams and Carolie managed to get Howard back to New Zealand in July of 2021.
Howard passed away on 24th August 2021 from septic pneumonia. He went down within 48 hours and was still able to walk and not yet bedridden two days before he died.
Howard had an extraordinarily positive approach to his illness and was forever hopeful that he would conquer the GVHD. He did everything in his power to do the best for his recovery. Although he suffered tremendously, he never regretted the life extension that his treatment provided. Eight of his thirteen grandchildren were born during the six years post stem cell transplant and his family was of ultimate importance to him. He had a strong faith in God and was never afraid of death.
We as a family are extremely grateful for the quality of medical care he received
Dick
Dick Wardell was a humble, quiet achiever who never sought the limelight but was totally committed to his family and community whilst being a dedicated and successful farmer at Omarama Station.
He subconsciously lived by the motto, “that it’s nice to be important but more important to be nice”. Never one to make a noise, he was however true to his Quaker roots of holding strong beliefs and standing up when the situation requires.
Dick never had a bad word to say about anyone and helped many people, whether they kew to or not.
He was widely read and travelled but never needed to draw attention to his knowledge or acumen.
03/07/1937 - 03/05/2012
All our incredible donors
- Joan Carroll
- George Family
- Colin Ewings
- Juliet Higgins
- Pat Consedine
- Andrew Family
- Subtil Family
- Mather Family
- McElrea Family