Toby Fuller
I'm Toby Fuller. I'm 25 and living with the challenge of multiple myeloma. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of available medications in New Zealand, I am not expected to live to 30.
My dedicated doctor is encouraging a potentially life-extending move to the UK a country I left when I was six, where advanced treatments like carfilzomib, pomalidomide and daratumumab are accessible.
My treatment involved 27 days of radiotherapy, three cycles of VTD-pace, and an autologous stem cell transplant. Along with these are many bone marrow biopsies, surgeries and tests.
I am currently on the last line of funded maintenance chemotherapy Revlimid. Such a move would mean leaving behind my family, friends, work, and post-graduate study. However, the opportunity to have these vital treatments funded in Aotearoa would not only prolong my life but also enable me to spend more precious moments with the people who mean the world to me.