A clinical trial in Singapore represents a final lifeline for a Christchurch policewoman in her fight against a rare and aggressive cancer.
Detective Constable Sophie Moore, 29, and her fiancée Koryn Arthur, also a police officer, have just returned from her first round of groundbreaking CAR-T treatment. The course has a total price tag of $900,000.
They’ve shared every bleak moment since Sophie’s diagnosis of Peripheral T-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (PTCL), a rare blood cancer that affects less than 4% of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma sufferers. A bruised rib sent Sophie to her GP in August 2023 and the next month her doctor knelt beside her hospital bed to tell her she had cancer.
“As soon as they said it was cancer, Koryn did faint. I just said, look, I’m going to be ok,” Sophie said.
Once Koryn regained her composure, she proposed to Sophie.
“Look, I don’t think it’s particularly romantic. Some people like the story, makes me cringe a bit,” Koryn said.
Since then, Sophie has had eight rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants.
Unfortunately, due to the aggressiveness of her lymphoma, her cancer relapsed in August 2024.
Now, her best option is a ground-breaking CAR-T cell therapy offered at the National University Hospital of Singapore. This treatment has been very successful in achieving remission for others with blood cancer.
The couple has shared all of the bleak moments but also use a good dose of black humour to get through moments, like shaving off Sophie’s hair.
Laughing, as they look back at a video of that time, Sophie said: “You’ve given me a bowl cut”.
Koryn laughed in reply: “No, you said you wanted a mullet. Good thing I’m a police officer and not a barber.”
They credit their resilience with skills they’ve learned in the police force.
“Sophie is the love of my life, and I think being police officers, we can go to work and deal with all the yucky gory stuff, but when something happens to you, personally, it affects and changes your entire life,” Koryn said.
The cost of the treatment has forced them to reach out for help.
“It’s a really hard thing to go out and ask people for money, and we’re in a position where nobody has $890,000 just sitting in their bank account,” Sophie said.
A Givealittle page has climbed to almost $190,000, and on Thursday night, Sophie’s hometown of Gore is staging a fundraising concert called Singing for Sophie, organised by family friend Karen Bellew.
“Gore is just one of those places we get in behind, and following on from a really successful Bridget Jones movie night, I thought let’s just do something musical,” Karen said.
They’re calling it a glam night, with 15 female performers, including some Gold Guitar winners, singing a range of styles from country to rock.
“It’s been two years of hell really. It’s every parent’s nightmare. It doesn’t matter if your child’s 29 in Sophie’s case,” Karen said.
“They’re hugely resilient and positive people. We’re just doing our little bit to see if we can help.”
Sophie said: “It’s so typical of Gore just to crowd around one of their people.”
Now, they are readying themselves to return to Singapore next month. “We’re just thinking about what it’s going to be like on the other side,” Sophie said.
In a statement to 1News, Deputy Chief Executive of Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, Nicola Hill said: “Sophie’s case is very sad, and it is completely understandable that people want to explore any avenue to help cure their cancer.”
Hill said the agency did not comment on the specifics of individual cases but said it continued to support promising CAR-T research in New Zealand and its potential benefits.
“The Ministry of Health is leading a programme of work to deliver national leadership and infrastructure to support researchers to plan and conduct more high-quality clinical trials, to benefit New Zealanders.”
