THREE KEY FACTS About 25,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer each year. The most commonly diagnosed cancers in New Zealand (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) are breast, melanoma, lung, prostate and colorectal cancers. Māori are more likely than non-Māori to be diagnosed with a range of cancers, including breast, liver, lung, pancreatic, stomach and uterine.
Boris Sokratov is a Bulgarian-Māori and whakapapas to Te Rarawa, Ngati Haua. He was the producer of the Nutters Club Radio Show and helped establish the Key to Life Charitable Trust. He is also undergoing intense radiation and chemotherapy for a rare aggressive cancer called small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.
OPINION: I’m one of the few “privileged Māori”..