Health campaigner succumbs to cancer

Lorraine Stringer was passionate about nursing, starting her career as a 17-year-old and then returning to the workforce as a 60-year-old. Photo / Waikato District Health Board

Lorraine Stringer said if her efforts to raise awareness about bowel cancer could save at least one person's life she'd be happy.

The mother of three, who went back to nursing as a 60-year-old and fronted a successful campaign in the Waikato encouraging those who had left the profession to return, died of bowel cancer on Tuesday. She was 64.

Four months into last year's Waikato District Health Board's "I came back to nursing" advertising campaign, medical specialists dropped a bombshell on Mrs Stringer when they told her she had developed the illness.

About 2700 New Zealanders are diagnosed with the disease each year. Of those, about 1200 die making it the second-biggest cancer killer after lung cancer.

The diagnosis was an "absolute blow" for the nursing veteran of 40 years, who had missed the disease until it had reached the most serious level four stage.

More bad news was to follow when tests revealed she had 12 malignant lymph glands and secondary cancer in the liver.

But while the disease does not always cause symptoms, early diagnosis and treatment makes it curable and Mrs Stringer was thrilled when another campaign that she fronted promoting bowel cancer awareness helped another woman.

Her daughter, Joanna Flynn, said the woman read about her plight and had herself checked out. The woman was diagnosed with the early stages of bowel cancer but was seen in time to be treated.

"She really wanted to make a difference for other people so it was great that she turned something which was an awful situation into something good," said Ms Flynn.

Waikato DHB spokeswoman Mary Anne Gill said Mrs Stringer's involvement with the DHB's campaign had resulted in at least 50 nurses returning to work at Waikato Hospital.

Mrs Stringer's husband of the past 15 years, Don Stringer, yesterday told the Herald she enjoyed gardening and the pair often travelled overseas together.

But she was passionate about nursing, having started her career as a 17-year-old and spent most of her working life at Waikato Hospital.

"She was 64 but she would have carried on had she survived this, she still would have been trying to help other people," said Mr Stringer.