Where's My Money Season 4, Episode 4

Season Four of Where’s My Money?, now a multi-award-winning podcast, has arrived and we will share all the insights covered across the episodes by host Reagan White and his guests.

enable.me partners with rova to bring this podcast to life and stimulate the conversation about finances with everyday Kiwis. Where’s My Money? follows the story of Reagan – a man chasing the Kiwi Dream but feeling stuck living month-to-month – and his discussions with the experts about what he may be doing wrong and how to fix it.

One man. One million dollars of debt. One podcast to find a way out.

You can feel healthy, full of energy and be living your normal life – then in the next breath be hit with an unexpected disease or illness. This is the experience of Kiwi Catherine Cooke, who was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in late 2024.

Unfortunately, the only drug that treats this form of cancer is not funded in New Zealand for early diagnosis, leaving Catherine to scramble to find ways to fund treatment to beat the cancer.

In this episode, Catherine shares her powerful story of resilience and fighting for what’s fair, and enable.me Financial Coach Shaila Contractor adds her expertise with five practical things you can do to become financially resilient before crisis strikes.

When feeling healthy is only surface level

Finding funding streamsn eventual diagnosis of TNBC, Catherine discovered the baffling contradictions within the New Zealand health system. Left to fight for her life without the promised ‘safety net’, she remarks that it can happen to anyone – no matter how full of life you feel.

“If you saw me the day, the week, the morning of being diagnosed, I looked great. I felt great. I was telling people how great I was feeling,” Catherine says.

She needed more tests and scans for her health team to figure out the stage of her illness. A head-scratching conundrum is that the only drug that has a chance of beating TNBC is Keytruda – a drug that is funded only for advanced cases, not for early diagnosis.

Catherine was left with a strange contradiction where being early stage or advanced stage both had ups and downs to weigh up.

“On one hand I’m like I hope it’s advanced, so I’m funded,” she says, “and on the other hand I’m like, I don’t want it to be advanced at all.”

Podcast host Reagan White summed it up as, “they’ve said there’s one line of defence and you can’t have it – unless you pay.”

She stresses that Keytruda is available for early-stage TNBC in 40 countries around the world, Catherine’s question is: why not in New Zealand?

Finding funding streams

To afford the treatment that gives her a chance at life, Catherine needs 17 treatments of Keytruda – at $8,000 each, a bill of around $136,000 to access this unfunded drug.

Though Catherine has health insurance, she has been left to foot some of the bill and the decision herself: either fund it, or not access the treatment at all.

She has needed to look at a range of avenues for financial support, including looking at selling her house, using her existing health insurance policy, and setting up a Givealittle page. You can find her page here to find out more about her story.

Fighting for fair

Where do you turn when government-funded healthcare lets you down? Catherine is both fighting for herself and feels inspired to support other people facing the same lack of access.

She’s taking the fight straight to the source of stress – the NZ Government.

17,096 people have now signed Catherine’s petition to fund Keytruda for early-stage TNBC. She is delivering her petition to Nancy Lu, National List MP to take to the Beehive and effect change in accessibility of this treatment in New Zealand.

“This petition is not about me, it’s not going to help me, it’s too late to help me,” Catherine shares, “this petition is to stop others from having to go through the financial burden, the financial ruin – or having to write letters to their children and family to say goodbye.”

It’s now closed for signatures, but you can find information about the petition and track its progress through parliament here.

Planning for the unexpected

Catherine shares from her own personal experiences that having some insurance cover and someone to guide you through the financial impacts of an unexpected illness is important.

She says, “you should think about getting some kind of insurance once you start getting assets or even, you know, even having a will if you’ve got animals or children.”

enable.me Financial Coach Shaila Contractor agrees, appearing in the Where’s My Money? episode to give some quick-fire tips for what you someone might want to prepare in case of an unexpected illness or trauma.

Her five things that are top-of-mind in this situation:

1. Insurance – find out what cover you have.
2. Have an up-to-date will and Enduring Power of Attorney.
3. Reach out to your bank to understand your debt position.
4. Make a list of all your expenses to know your outgoings.
5. Keep your important documents in one place.

Shaila explains, “It can be a very vulnerable time for everybody.”

“But be assured that there are people out there who are going to help you, who are going to support you through this process as well.”

She further emphasises the importance of communicating your wishes through having a will and considering Enduring Power of Attorney.

“Make a list of things… important to you that you want to take care of that can be looked after in your absence,” she says.

“Don’t hold yourself back, ask for help.”

Reagan agrees with Shaila. “The last thing you need if you’ve got a serious illness or a terminal illness to deal with, you don’t want to be dealing with admin,” he says.

“You don’t want to be losing sleep over bills and seemingly – comparatively – inconsequential things.”

Illness doesn’t discriminate and can strike anyone – even those who are seemingly fit and healthy. It’s important to have resilience in your finances and be prepared in case it happens to you. Listen to Catherine’s full candid and inspirational story on this episode of Where’s My Money?

Disclaimer: The Where’s My Money? podcast and the information shared by host Reagan White and his guests does not constitute individual financial advice. If you’re interested in receiving financial advice, you can book a consultation with an enable.me coach. Costs apply.