The drug is publicly funded in New Zealand for eligible breast cancer patients, but not for Mike\u2019s bowel cancer.<\/p>\n
The medication received Medsafe approval for his type of cancer in September 2026, allowing the family to claim a $10,000 annual payment through their Southern Cross insurance.<\/p>\n
But the approval has not made the drug publicly funded for Mike.<\/p>\n
Each infusion costs the family more than $12,000, with treatment required every three weeks, working out at about $17,000 monthly.<\/p>\n
Mike, previously the family\u2019s main earner, can no longer work, while Harriet balances a 30-hour work week with caring for him and their two children.<\/p>\n
The family have drawn on savings, support from Mike\u2019s relatives and donations through a Givealittle campaign to cover treatment and related expenses.<\/p>\n
Mike and Harriet Hrynkewycz during one of his hospital stays since his stage four cancer diagnosis in September 2025.<\/p>\n
They were hoping to secure individual funding for Enhertu through another application to Pharmac.<\/p>\n
A previous application for a cancer drug called tucatinib was not progressed by Pharmac.<\/p>\n
In a letter dated May 13, Pharmac said Mike\u2019s circumstances did not appear sufficiently exceptional to qualify under its Named Patient Pharmaceutical Assessment policy.<\/p>\n
It cited clinical advice estimating that about 60 to 80 patients in New Zealand could have similar circumstances.<\/p>\n
The letter said the treatment would be more appropriately considered through Pharmac\u2019s standard funding process, which could potentially make it available to a wider group.<\/p>\n
A subsequent Official Information Act response confirmed tucatinib had never been approved through that individual funding pathway for HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer at the time of the response.<\/p>\n
For Harriet, the funding situation has added another layer of uncertainty to an already devastating year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat frustrates me the most is the inequality around how things are funded … It feels really unfair,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve paid so many taxes over the years as two hardworking, earning people, and yet we can\u2019t get the help we need.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Medsafe spokesperson said in a statement that approval allows a medicine to be prescribed and supplied in New Zealand, but funding decisions are made by Pharmac.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, Medsafe\u2019s approval can help inform Pharmac\u2019s decision on whether to fund a medicine,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Pharmac told the Herald it could not comment on specific cases for privacy reasons, but as of October 19 had not received an application to fund Enhertu for HER2-positive bowel cancer, or for all HER2-positive cancers regardless of tumour site.<\/p>\n
Chief advisor of pharmaceuticals, Adrienne Martin, said the agency assessed medicines based on applications from pharmaceutical companies, clinicians or members of the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is because the effectiveness of a particular medicine can differ based on what it is being used for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin said Pharmac would welcome an application to consider funding the treatment and had been in contact with the supplier to discuss the unmet need for patients with the condition.<\/p>\n
From back pain to cancer diagnosis<\/p>\n
Mike\u2019s diagnosis came after what the couple initially believed was a minor back injury from renovating their home.<\/p>\n
He had been experiencing lower back pain when, on September 11 last year, he suffered a seizure affecting his right side.<\/p>\n
Scans revealed a brain tumour, followed by lesions in his bowel and both lungs.<\/p>\n
A colonoscopy confirmed stage 4 bowel cancer.<\/p>\n
Mike initially received funded chemotherapy, but a brain tumour grew rapidly from about 2.5cm to 5cm and required surgery in November.<\/p>\n
A second tumour later developed in his cerebellum, affecting his balance and co-ordination.<\/p>\n
Doctors then discovered his cancer was HER2-positive, opening additional targeted treatment options, but at a substantial cost.<\/p>\n
Mike Hrynkewycz during his cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
Harriet said Mike had previously been fit, active and heavily involved in family life.<\/p>\n
Now he wears a brace to help with foot drop and uses an electric wheelchair for longer outings.<\/p>\n
Simple activities, including mowing the lawns, driving the children to sport or going fishing, are no longer straightforward.<\/p>\n
Harriet said Mike continued trying to support their children, Patrick, 12, and Elaina, 9, despite his limitations.<\/p>\n
A recent fishing trip to Tekapo with Patrick and Mike\u2019s father ended early after Mike suffered another seizure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it was quite the trip that any of them were hoping for,\u201d Harriet said.<\/p>\n
She said their daughter particularly struggled with the changes to family life.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants what she calls a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike and Harriet Hrynkewycz with their children, Patrick, 12, and Elaina, 9. The family has spent nearly $100,000 on cancer treatment.<\/p>\n
The family believes it has financial support for about six rounds of Enhertu.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, the future is uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess we\u2019ll just have to cross that bridge,\u201d Harriet said when asked what would happen if they could no longer afford treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery decision we make is about trying to give Mike a future.<\/p>\n
\u201cNavigating the balance between hope, life and financial reality is a really hard and scary road to walk and we are desperately trying to get the balance right every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the hardest part had been watching the life they knew disappear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grieve the life we had. I grieved the life we were going to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rafaella Melo is a multimedia journalist with more than 10 years\u2019 experience in Brazil. She spent two years reporting for Hawke\u2019s Bay Today before joining the NZ Herald\u2019s Christchurch team in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The drug is publicly funded in New Zealand for eligible breast cancer patients, but not for Mike\u2019s bowel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[313813,16574,2534,4487,3401,6119,2209,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-640255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-17000amonth","tag-bill","tag-cancer","tag-christchurch","tag-drug","tag-faces","tag-father","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640255","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=640255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}