Prostate cancer: Rotorua widow organises Blue Walk to raise funds for charity

Shirley Hazelwood at the Blue Walk fundraising event in Rotorua last year. Her husband, Daniel, died from prostate cancer in December 2024. Photo / Lisa Quirk Photography

Rotorua widow Shirley Hazelwood says her family used to hear the statistics for prostate cancer but barely took notice.

One in eight men would be diagnosed. More than 700 died every year.

“Like so many others, we never thought it would be us.”

Hazelwood lost her husband, Daniel, to prostate cancer in December 2024. He was 61.

“He was fit, healthy, active, and had no symptoms at all,” she told the Rotorua Daily Post .

The impact on families was felt long after someone died from prostate cancer, she said.

“Families are left trying to put their lives back together while carrying a loss that never truly goes away. The pain doesn’t necessarily get easier; you simply become stronger at carrying it.