{"id":285763,"date":"2026-02-15T20:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/285763\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T20:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:59:07","slug":"young-mums-cancer-fight-highlights-need-for-22-5m-northland-cancer-lodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/285763\/","title":{"rendered":"Young mum\u2019s cancer fight highlights need for $22.5m Northland Cancer Lodge"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was the only option for Abi Johnston, who was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer<\/a> in 2023, when she was just 27.<\/p>\n

Johnston was 6 months pregnant, with the locally advanced cancer diagnosis shattering<\/a> what should have been one of the happiest times for her and husband Broc.<\/p>\n

She began chemotherapy within days<\/a>, welcomed their daughter Lilah mid\u2011treatment, and later underwent more chemotherapy, radiation treatment and a mastectomy.<\/p>\n

Johnston said being far from home made an already overwhelming experience even harder.<\/p>\n

Today, Johnston is well. Her scans are clear, Lailah is thriving and she feels grateful for how far her family has come.<\/p>\n

\"Today,Today, Whang\u0101rei’s Abi Johnston and her daughter Lailah are thriving but Johnston knows having her cancer treatment in Northland would have made life easier.<\/p>\n

Hearing about the new radiation oncology service<\/a> and Northland Cancer Lodge brings her real hope for others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited they\u2019re bringing radiation treatment to Northland and so happy the Cancer Society is building accommodation here<\/a>. So many people won\u2019t have to travel so far for treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnston said both would have made a big difference for her own wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf treatment and accommodation had been available here, every part of life would have been that little bit easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cancer Society has released the first sketches of the Northland Cancer Lodge and started a website taking direct donations for the $22.5m project. <\/p>\n

\"AbiAbi Johnston, who had her daughter Lailah in the middle of her cancer treatment, says she’s excited for the Cancer Society’s Northland Cancer Lodge.<\/p>\n

Building work is expected to start in the middle of the year, after earthworks and retaining walls are done.<\/p>\n

Johnston is urging others to support the lodge.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery donation, no matter how big or small, creates a massive impact for people in our community going through cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cancer Society Northland regional manager Charli Timms said community support will help build more than just a lodge, helping strengthen cancer care in Northland for years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis lodge is a place of compassion, dignity, and connection. It will ease stress for patients and their wh\u0101nau, keeping families together during one of life\u2019s hardest journeys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Northland Cancer Lodge will not only have 20 modern bedroom suites, it will include supportive communal spaces and a welcoming environment inspired by Auckland\u2019s Domain Lodge.<\/p>\n

People can donate directly or choose to fundraise in their own way, she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Northland Relay For Life at Trigg Stadium, on March 21, offers a way for the community to get involved, with funds raised going to the lodge.<\/p>\n

Go to northlandlodge.org.nz<\/a> to learn more or donate directly.<\/p>\n

Denise Piper is a news reporter<\/a> for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This was the only option for Abi Johnston, who was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2023,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[154830,23748,2831,2534,797,15124,2082,8788,173,30504,5971,111,43,139,1067,69,2247,1869,6123,102,4741],"class_list":{"0":"post-285763","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-225m","9":"tag-backing","10":"tag-breast","11":"tag-cancer","12":"tag-diagnosed","13":"tag-fight","14":"tag-for","15":"tag-highlights","16":"tag-lodge","17":"tag-mums","18":"tag-need","19":"tag-new-zealand","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-newzealand","22":"tag-northland","23":"tag-nz","24":"tag-pregnant","25":"tag-whangrei","26":"tag-while","27":"tag-with","28":"tag-young"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}