The intimate concert setting at the Gore Town & Country Club featured performers, organisers and technicians who all donated their time and talents to Christchurch police officer Sophie Moore’s cause.
Ms Moore was diagnosed with peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2023 and underwent 10 rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants to treat a rare, aggressive blood cancer.
She then discovered the cancer had relapsed, and her doctors looked far and wide for a solution.
They found a CAR-T cell therapy, offered at the National University Hospital of Singapore, that had been shown to put other blood cancer sufferers into remission — but the cost was quoted at $800,000 for the treatment and recovery process.
Gore has already rallied around Ms Moore — who was raised in Gore — with a movie fundraiser raising $13,791, and last night’s musical evening was the brain-child of close family friend Karen Bellew.
Before the performers took the stage, Monica Moore said she had to go to therapy to help her to deal with the shock of her daughter’s diagnosis, which had "knocked" her down.
"She had her tonsils out when she was 2 and then she’s never been sick since," she said.
She said that going forward, she wanted to raise awareness for other cancer sufferers, who have to raise the money for their own medical treatment.
"This can happen to anyone, and CAR-T cell therapy is the way forward, but the way things are is that it’s user-pay at the moment ... and cancer research relies on donation," she said.
She said her daughter was resting in Christchurch, trying to keep busy, while she awaited the call to Singapore to begin treatment.
During the concert, musical performer Vanessa Harvey reminisced on growing up with Ms Moore and reconnecting with her more recently as if nothing had changed.
The night was interpolated with warm stories of Ms Moore and a word from her mother at the end.
"She’s a good, good person," Monica Moore said.
"She’s my baby, and we’ll do anything for her."
