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Auckland cancer sufferer selling sunflower plants to raise money to pay for Keytruda medication

November 26, 2019
Anders Jansson-Bush outside his East Auckland home.

An Auckland man is selling sunflower plants from his front lawn to try and raise $100,000 to fund the anti-cancer drug Keytruda in the hopes it will extend his life by up to 10 years.

Anders Jansson-Bush, 64, was diagnosed with neck cancer in 2016 and the cancer has now spread to his pelvic bone, lungs, lymph nodes and liver. 

Pharmac approved Keytruda for melanoma patients in 2016, after a prolonged campaign for Government funding fought by patients and then-opposition Labour MPs, but it's not funded for other types of cancers.

Mr Jansson-Bush has been through standard chemotherapy and radiation therapy which he was told would give him about three more months to live. But like many others, he wants to be able to have access to Keytruda, a highly effective and broad-range anti-cancer drug.

But at about $10,000 per injection, it doesn't come cheap.

So, about a month ago, he came up with the idea to sell sunflower plants as “a celebration of life”.

He told his wife he was going to “dig up the front lawn” to plant a large patch and sell seedling plants to the public as a way to raise awareness and fundraise for the drug.

"People just love it, they come here, take pictures and donate money. I hope they can get a memento as well as enjoy the fundraising," he told 1 NEWS.

Pharmac approved the expensive cancer drug for melanoma patients two years ago, but lung cancer treatment isn’t approved.

“I love sunflowers, to me they are a celebration of life so I thought if I don’t make it, I have done something that I would love to do anyway,” he says.

Mr Jansson-Bush, who lives opposite Eastern Beach with his wife and children, says his goal is to raise $100,000 over the next few months which will give him about a year’s worth of access to Keytruda.

The cancer treatment fundraiser for Mr Jansson-Bush

After 10 injections of the drug, he says the pharmaceutical company have agreed to fund all future injections for free for the rest of his life.

“I had heard of someone else doing the same thing - getting compassionate funding and so I thought I would ask about it,” he says.

He says it was with the help of his oncologist that he was able to strike a deal with the pharmaceutical company. 

Mr Jansson-Bush says he expects his garden will be in full bloom in a few weeks time when he hopes his fundraising efforts will start paying off.


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