A neonatal nurse who has dedicated her life to caring for critically ill babies is turning her hopes to treatment overseas after her "horrendous" cancer returned for a third time.
Tracey Wright began working as a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital in January, 2000 - and now says it is "very different being on the other end".
"I've got compassion for the families when we tell them awful news, but when it's actually yourself and you're like, 'wow, it's horrendous and very confronting'."
She now plans to undergo CAR-T cell therapy in China after her options in New Zealand were exhausted and her daughter has set up a GiveALittle page to raise money for the treatment.
Wright's cancer journey began in June 2023 when she discovered two lumps on her groin, and was advised by her GP to monitor them for two weeks.
After the two weeks the lumps had grown bigger, and a biopsy confirmed Wright had large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma — a fast-growing type of blood cancer impacting the lymphatic system.
"Then I started what they called a R-CHOP chemotherapy over a six-month period, which did put me into remission," the 56-year-old said.
In August 2025, after two years of check-ups every three months, Wright found a lump on her neck a day before she was booked to see her haematologist.
"I went and had a biopsy of the neck and then it reconfirmed that my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma had come back."
'I just felt like I got hit by a brick'
For the second time, Wright began another round of chemo and ended up having a stem cell transplant.
"During that chemo I just felt like I got hit by a brick, just the awful side effects and everything," she said.
Months went by and Wright said her blood remained clear, but doctors flagged that her bone marrow was "like a slug" and had a lower-than-normal number of white blood cells that help the body fight off bacterial and fungal infections.
"That kind of carried on and got to six months and they were like, 'oh, that's unusual. You should have recovered by now'."
About nine months later, Wright said she started to experience vision issues while at work, but thought she was "just overreacting".
Another scan confirmed the "devastating" news that her cancer was back for the third time after just nine months in remission.
"She said, 'you've got a brain tumour' and brought up the scans and then I was just like 'oh my god'.
"I went back into the waiting room in ED and I'm crying and ringing my husband and then my nurse unit manager came down, and I just burst into tears. So, there's me in my grey uniform crying, sitting in the middle of ED," she laughed.
Wright said speaking about her cancer "still doesn't feel real".
"It's still absolutely unbelievable that, like, is this really happening? Initially I was graded I think 3B in severity, so to be honest I never imagined it would come back. I thought that I would be in remission and be fine," she said.
The treatment
Wright said she plans to go to Shanghai for CAR-T cell therapy — which is not currently available in New Zealand — as Kiwi doctors told her: "If I was to have treatment here, it was basically only to help give me a bit more time."
Currently the treatment is only available in New Zealand through clinical trials, with one underway at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research.
"The doctors said, because it's in the brain, it's getting that chemo into your CNS [central nervous system] because of your brain barrier, that kind of prevents it from working effectively. They said, 'it could give you a bit of time, but it might not'. And they said, 'if you don't have treatment, it could be weeks to a few months before you die'."
She said initially she wasn't sure about seeking overseas treatment due to the costs involved, but her family said "we don't want you to go".
"They haven't done a huge amount on the CNS, on the brain. So, it's still new treatment in that respect. But if anything is going to help cure me, it would be the CAR T-cell therapy. It is really my only option."
The support
Wright described the outpouring of support as "humbling".
"It was so overwhelming. I was just so emotionally upset because that's just so lovely," she said, holding back tears.
"Just the love and support, and it's just been incredible and families that I've looked after their kids, and even some of son's school friends have donated. It's really, really lovely that people have been so supportive. It's blown me away."
As of early November, the page had just under $70,000 in donations.
"Honestly, it's very humbling and I'm just very grateful that people are so kind like that."
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