Hello all who have honoured us in looking at this page.

Our names are Monica, Martin, Ruth and Gordon, and along with our partners and our respective children, we are raising money for our mother/grandmother, Juineta (Neta) Kirby, who is fighting Breast Cancer.

All the proceeds of this campaign will go towards the costs of surgery, anaesthesia, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, surgeon checkups, nursing checkups, medications, travel expenses, loss of income, food (food for not only for Neta but also her two professionally trained co-worker therapy dogs, Connie and Meg), dog pet insurance, household bills, house cleaning, garden maintenance, and general living expenses; whilst in the 3-4 month recovery period.

The Story!

Neta has been going to have breast checks and mammagrams for 37 years as her mother, our grandmother, had breast cancer which metastasized. Neta has been attending the same clinic each year for her annual checkup, and often sees the same women as they all rebook for the same day, those women, Neta included, call it their Beautiful Breasts Day.

On Tuesday 9th January 2024, at her annual Beautiful Breasts Day visit, Neta was told that there was a lump in one of her breasts. Subsequent tests showed that it was Cancer.

Over the next 6 days Neta traveled to and from the Shepparton area to Melbourne (a 5 hour return trip), 3 times.

She was admitted to hospital for surgery in Melbourne on Monday 15th January and had the lump and two lymph nodes removed on the Tuesday.

Neta was finally discharged and travelled home to Tatura on Friday 19th January to a pair of extremely loving dogs and a son, Martin, who had looked after them in the meantime.

She travelled to Melbourne again on 24th January 2024 and the surgeon reported that there was no cancer left. Neta and her sister, Jenet, who accompanied her, were overjoyed to say the least!

No chemotherapy is needed but radiation and hormone therapy are required. Luckily Neta will be able to receive treatment locally in Shepparton, however this is still a 40 minute round trip for her and will not be able to drive due to being greatly fatigued and nauseuas because of the treatment.

Who is Neta?

Neta is a loving mother, grandmother and soon to be great-grandmother, and an avid volunteer in the community, and also an Aunty in the local indigenous community.

Neta has been a member of the Tatura Rotary Club for 27 years, and recently became a Rotary District Governor for 2023/24, giving her time and effort to the local and wider community has been a big part of her life for the past 3 decades.

Neta has been a driver and delivery person for Meals-On-Wheels, is one of a select number of Sandplay Therapists in Australia and, along with her two Therapy Dogs (Connie and Meg), caters to neglected and abused Children and Adults alike, with a 2 year old on one end of the age scale and an 85 year old with dementia on the other.

Neta has been an Early Childhood Educator since 1974 and has improved her knowledge and skills in the area of Children’s physical and mental health considerably in that time, including passing her skills and knowledge on by teaching at the local TAFE and University of Melbourne campuses. Subsequently, Neta has become a Sandplay Therapist, Animal Assisted Play Therapist, and Nature Based Therapist, amongst other qualifications.

Neta enjoys, when she has the strength, taking her dogs for walks, riding her Can Am Spyder motorbike (which Mum tells me with a grimace that she hasn’t been on for 7 weeks {26/02/24}), and making sure that her life stories help spur on other people with Community Information via social media, that mental and physical checks, amongst others, are extremely important.

Because of Neta’s diagnosis of Long-Covid, contracting Covid-19 four times, and her inability to work for five and a half months in 2022, she used all of her savings, and consequently since then has worked on an irregular basis. In the last 2 years, since getting Covid, Neta has been able to work only 2-3 days a week instead of 5-6 days a week, with 1-2 clients a day verses 4-5 clients a day. This has greatly impacted not only her financial situation but also her mental state as helping people in need is part of who she is.

Neta has had to deal with the storm and flood that affected her home town of Tatura in December 2022, with her Sandplay Therapy Rooms under water and a lot of her equipment destroyed. The Rooms were unable to be used for several months, again impacting her ability to work.

With her breast cancer ordeal, Neta hasn’t worked much for the past 7 weeks and bills are piling up.

Throughout this Neta has continued her duties as best she can as Rotary District Governor of District 9790, been taken off the roster at the local Historical Society Museum, has been unable to walk the dogs which is saddening for all, and has tried her best to get outside.

“I would love to have my medical debts and my health issues dealt with as soon as possible so that I can get on with my life and my work. Thank you.”

Neta Kirby

26/02/24

Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference in helping Neta through this difficult time.

On behalf of our mother we want to thank you for your time, generosity, and kindness.

Regards,

Monica, Martin, Ruth and Gordon

(This fundraiser has been created by Gordon Boyd with help from siblings Monica, Martin, and Ruth; on behalf of our mother, Neta who is the sole beneficiary of any funds received.)

Please share our GoFundMe on your Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media you happen to use, thank you.