friend\u2019s social media post<\/a> about prostate cancer encouraging people to get tested.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat followed was devastating,\u201d his widow said.<\/p>\n
An aggressive form of prostate cancer had already spread to his bladder, hips and spine.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it had been detected so late, treatment was focused on slowing the cancer and giving him as much time as possible with family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardest part wasn\u2019t Daniel\u2019s fear of dying. It was the fear of not being able to keep living the life he loved, and the thought of leaving behind the people who loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Daniel]()
Daniel Hazelwood died from prostate cancer on December 12, 2024.<\/p>\n
Early detection gave men the best chance of successful treatment, she said.<\/p>\n
After Daniel\u2019s diagnosis, he became passionate about encouraging other men to get checked. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough we can\u2019t change his outcome, we can continue the mission that meant so much to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blue Walk fundraiser for the Prostate Cancer Foundation <\/p>\n
Hazelwood\u2019s eldest daughter, Leigha, and the Rotorua Sunrise Rotary Club have organised a Blue Walk to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.<\/p>\n
Blue September is the foundation\u2019s annual awareness month.<\/p>\n
Funds raised support the foundation\u2019s vital services, including counselling, fitness and wellbeing programmes, partner and family support, education, advocacy and research.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s walk raised about $5000.<\/p>\n
![\"Leigha]()
Leigha Hazelwood (right) at last year’s Blue Walk. She has helped to organise this year’s event. Photo \/ Lisa Quirk<\/p>\n
The family-friendly walk is on September 29, starting at the Rotorua Lakefront\u2019s Village Green at 5.30pm.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute route will go past Rotorua Hospital and return to the Village Green via Eat Streat.<\/p>\n
Registrations open from 4.30pm. The entry fee is $10 for adults and a gold coin donation for children.<\/p>\n
\u201cDress in blue and join the walk, led by our local fire engine, with the brass band providing music along the route,\u201d Shirley Hazelwood said.<\/p>\n
![\"Last]()
Last year’s Blue Walk in Rotorua raised money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Photo \/ Lisa Quirk Photography<\/p>\n
There will also be spot prizes and a sausage sizzle.<\/p>\n
Shirley said every step helped spread awareness and started conversations that could save lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf sharing Daniel\u2019s story encourages even one man to make an appointment with his doctor, then we know we are making a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
The walk was about more than remembering Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about giving other families the chance to keep their fathers, husbands, brothers, sons, and friends for longer. That\u2019s why we walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The Blue Walk in Rotorua in 2025. The event has been running annually since 2016. Photo \/ Lisa Quirk Photography<\/p>\n
Heinz Fett has helped to organise Rotorua\u2019s Blue Walk every year since its inception in 2016.<\/p>\n
He and Daniel Hazelwood were also co-ordinators for the Rotorua prostate cancer support group.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole thing is about awareness and [to] get guys to talk about it,\u201d Fett told the Rotorua Daily Post.<\/p>\n
He wants the Government to fund a national screening programme<\/a>, similar to that for breast cancer.<\/p>\nHe said the death rate for prostate cancer was higher than for breast cancer. <\/p>\n
However, a prostate cancer diagnosis did not mean \u201cit is the end of it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why early detection is really the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
People who cannot attend the Blue Walk can donate through the Rotorua Blue Walk fundraising page on the Blue September website.<\/p>\n
Megan Wilson<\/a> is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The impact on families was felt long after someone died from prostate cancer, she said. \u201cFamilies are left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[51125,15497,2534,1977,2109,2082,36091,33019,134,75115,111,139,11552,69,159089,29138,2515,1327,312,85454,29756,61,6382,13797,34890,33016],"class_list":["post-613040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-barely","tag-blue","tag-cancer","tag-charity","tag-family","tag-for","tag-funds","tag-hazelwood","tag-health","tag-hear","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-notice","tag-nz","tag-organises","tag-prostate","tag-raise","tag-rotorua","tag-says","tag-shirley","tag-statistics","tag-to","tag-took","tag-used","tag-walk","tag-widow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613040","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=613040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}