Janet Mikkelsen is Louise’s older sister and has been on our Board of Trustees since Sweet Louise began almost 15 years ago.
“We were a close family growing up. Louise was fiercely independent and full of life.
“Not many people knew how sick Louise really was. Two weeks before she died, Louise went to her book club, even though she had to take her oxygen tank.
“Louise didn’t want to be defined by her cancer. Every day she did something for her that didn’t focus on the cancer. But there weren’t any support groups for Louise – she was only 29 – so much younger than most.
“After Louise died, her experience inspired us to help Kiwis with incurable breast cancer focus on the quality not the quantity of their lives.
“We held focus groups to find out what support New Zealanders needed. I was involved in hiring the first Support Coordinators – our frontline health and support workers. My family used to send out the newsletters and I set up the first volunteer group. We started just supporting women in Auckland, then spread to Wellington and Palmerston North, Waikato and eventually, covering the whole country.
“Today, Sweet Louise is so much bigger than my sister and my family. Because of support from New Zealanders, we’ve grown from a small charity to one that is helping hundreds of Kiwis and their families.
“I want Sweet Louise to continue long into the future and I am committed to those we support. That’s why I decided to leave a gift in my Will to Sweet Louise.
“I know a gift in my Will to Sweet Louise will be used with great integrity to make a lasting difference to the lives of Kiwis with incurable breast cancer.”
Leaving a gift in your Will
Leaving a gift in your Will to Sweet Louise can help ensure that every New Zealander living with incurable breast cancer can live as positively as possible, for as long as possible.
We all have financial commitments, which means we can’t always do as much as we would like to help others. A gift in your Will is an opportunity to give more than you might have been able to give in your lifetime, providing comfort, care and compassion for New Zealanders with incurable breast cancer long into the future.