Woman with terminal cervical cancer says New Zealand treatment ‘feels like a lottery’
A 30-year-old woman with terminal cervical cancer in New Zealand is criticizing the country's healthcare funding system, describing access to life-extending drugs as a lottery. She highlights that while some treatments are publicly funded, others like Keytruda remain prohibitively expensive for patients without specific coverage.
Why it matters
The story highlights ongoing debates regarding public health funding priorities and the financial burden of terminal illness on families.
A woman living with terminal cervical cancer says access to life-extending treatment in New Zealand “feels like a lottery”, saying care often depends on the type of cancer and whether it qualifies for public funding.
Ailien Ampuero, 30, trained as an environmental engineer before moving to Christchurch from Chile six years ago, and was separated from her now 12-year-old son, Gaston, during that time.
They reunited in 2023. But a year later, Ampuero was diagnosed with Stage 1B2 cervical cancer .
After an initial surgery, her diagnosis was upgraded to Stage 3C1.
Then, just three months ago, Ampuero was told her cancer had progressed to Stage 4B, meaning it was no longer curable.
“I underwent chemotherapy and radiation. The goal was cure. It did not work,” she said.
Last year, she underwent major surgery in an attempt to control the cancer.
Despite this, the cancer continued to progress.
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