The "Moore from Gore" fundraiser on Saturday will hopefully help Christchurch police officer Sophie Moore, 29, cover the costs for ground-breaking therapy for a rare blood cancer.
Ms Moore found out she had cancer only 18 months ago, after complaining of a bruised rib.
When her symptoms rapidly got worse, the Gore native was admitted to Christchurch Hospital and, six hours after a CT scan, her doctors told her they thought it was cancer.
Ms Moore was diagnosed with peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare, aggressive type that affects less than 4% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma sufferers.
She then endured 10 rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants, after which she believed the therapy had worked.
But, about a week after she had returned to work, Ms Moore found out her cancer had relapsed.
This news came as a complete shock to her and her partner Koryn Arthur, who is also a police officer and was by her side during treatment.
"That period was very, very scary because the second stem cell transplant was supposed to be the cure," Ms Moore said.
"And there was talk of, you know, the option being in palliative care, which is obviously really, really scary hearing at 29."
She said, thankfully, her doctors "hustled hard" for her and found a study where a new T-cell therapy had been used to treat a similar kind of cancer to Ms Moore’s.
"[It was used to treat] T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia," Mr Arthur explained.
"So, still a blood cancer but a T-cell blood cancer which is similar to what Sophie’s got."
The pair, now in Singapore, said doctors just told them Ms Moore was the first patient with this type of lymphoma to undergo this treatment.
"We’re hoping that this is one of the medical success stories ... that gives other patients a hope and an easier journey to a cure," Ms Moore said.
The two described themselves as an "incredibly private couple" who had told only a handful of people about Ms Moore’s diagnosis.
"It’s a bloody hard thing to tell people," Ms Moore said.
"It sounds cheap, but you just really don’t want to ruin people’s day."
But when the pair realised the daunting cost of the therapy, they knew they had to ask for help, and a Givealittle page was set up by a friend.
"Nobody has that kind of money sitting around in their account ... It’s just really hard to put yourself out there and say, you know, please help us," she said.
When asked about how she felt about the Gore community organising the fundraiser for Saturday, which includes the opportunity to watch a movie or donate to the bake sale, Ms Moore said it was "so gorgeous".
"It’s so Gore, you know, this community wrapping around to do a fundraising event for me.
"It’s just so lovely and so Gore.
"It’s just that southern, what do you call it, that sense of community that just is very prevalent in Gore."
The fundraiser is on February 23 with a bake sale, as well as a raffle, beginning at 1pm.
The $20 per person screening of Bridget Jones — Mad About the Boy, released earlier this month, will be at 3pm.
Gore Health are donating a free mole map as a prize for the raffle.
There is also a donation "wishing well" set up at LaHoods pharmacy, where movie tickets can also be bought movie tickets.
