Who we are
Mission Statement
Anal Cancer Support Services Aotearoa is dedicated to empowering and supporting people affected by anal cancer. We are also committed to supporting all interventions aimed at preventing anal cancer and improving treatment options.
Mary’s story
I was 59 years old, working full-time as a gynaecologist, when I was diagnosed with anal cancer. I was fit and feeling otherwise well, and never thought I would get cancer. During Auckland’s Covid lockdowns I experienced some bleeding and itching. It was difficult to see anyone about this, and I wasn’t keen to show my bottom to my GP, so I organised a colonoscopy with sedation. I told the specialist doing my colonoscopy that I thought I had haemorrhoids. When I woke up, the specialist said there was nothing to worry about, it was just a couple of small haemorrhoids. Over the next four months I had more bleeding, and the lump was getting bigger, so I thought I should follow up about the haemorrhoids. I arranged to see a colorectal surgeon; he took one look and said ‘I think you have anal cancer’.
This news came as a huge shock. On top of having to now deal with the cancer diagnosis and treatment, I felt very alone. Anal cancer is not a topic I’d ever heard anyone talk about. The only person who I knew about with anal cancer was Farah Fawcett-Majors and she died from it. I also felt embarrassed to tell people what type of cancer I had, and kept that information from friends and colleagues by simply saying it was ‘cancer’. Now that I have completed treatment for my stage 2 cancer, which included chemotherapy and radiation, I have a different view - I want to talk about having anal cancer to help others who are going through it. I’ve started the ACSS so that other people diagnosed with anal cancer, and their family and friends, can easily find the information they need, and people they can reach out to for support.
We have 5 Trustees at ASSCA.
Dr Mary Birdsall who was the previous Group Medical Director of Fertility Associates and anal cancer survivor.
Dr Rob Wallace who is a retired GP and is married to Mary and therefore brings the understanding of being a caregiver.
Alannah Hunter who is an expert in the Communication sphere with particular expertise in not-for profit organisations.
Dr Richard Isaacs who is a medical oncologist based in Palmerston North.
Dr Iain Ward who is a radiation oncologist based in Christchurch.
Our Trustees
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Mary Birdsall
Dr Mary Birdsall who was the previous Group Medical Director of Fertility Associates and anal cancer survivor. Mary studied at Auckland Medical School and then did her postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at National Womens’ Hospital. She then was awarded a Nuffield Medical Scholarship at the University of Oxford and completed a MSc and her subspecialist training in Reproductive Medicine. She then returned to NZ and joined Fertility Associated where she became Chair and Group Medical Director. She retired when she was diagnosed with anal cancer.
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Alannah Hunter
Alannah Hunter is a Marketing and Communications Manager with over 13 years health sector experience. She has worked across corporate, health and the non-profit organisations, where she implemented key digital and communications projects to improve both patient and donor experience.
Her current role at Hato Hone St John sees her implement new transformative initiatives across the organisation.
During her 8 years at Fertility Associates Alannah implemented key patient facing and strategic projects including a patient treatment app, online patient satisfaction survey and new website build. Her communication skills covered crisis management during the pandemic and Public Relations into key NZ media outlets. Alannah has also worked at the Cancer Society across fundraising, supportive care and preventative advocacy.
Alannah is passionate about making a positive difference for those in need, especially those receiving a cancer diagnosis. She hopes her skills will help to raise awareness for the Anal Cancer Support Society and connect those experiencing a diagnosis with support and information.
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Rob Wallace
Dr Rob Wallace is married to Mary and therefore brings the understanding of being a caregiver. Rob trained at Auckland Medical School and did his postgraduate medical training in Oxford and Auckland. He has a postgraduate degree in health informatics and has worked as a GP for over 20 years. He also worked at Auckland City Hospital, initially in a GP liaison role and then latterly as the Director of Primary Care for Oncology and General Medical Services.
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Iain Ward
Iain Ward is a radiation oncologist at Christchurch Hospital and St George’s Cancer Care Centre. He trained in medical oncology and radiation oncology in Christchurch and Melbourne, before going to The Princess Margaret Hospital (Toronto, Canada) to subspecialize in gastrointestinal cancers, sarcomas, and cancers of the head and neck region. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Gut Cancer Foundation and of the New Zealand Committee of the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group. His other professional interests include improving safety and quality of care and supporting the development of radiation oncology in Low and Middle Income Countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
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Richard Isaacs
Richard Isaacs trained at Auckland Medical School and then did his Physician and Medical Oncology training in Palmerston North and Oxford, where he completed a D.Phil in 1996.
He returned to Palmerston North, where he has worked as a Medical Oncologist MidCentral RCTS (Head of Dept 2010 -2021). He has been the local Principal & co-investigator on >30 clinical trials, most recently developing the PantoCIN trial which was presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in 2022. He currently is a named author on 45 publications related to those trials.
He has been a member the NZ Breast Cancer Special Interest Group since 2007 and in 2008 was the Medical witness for the BCAC patient advocacy group seeking access to trastuzumab for early breast cancer.
He has been on the Advanced Training Committee for Medical Oncology from 2011-2016 and is also on the Senior Examination panel for the RACP exam in both New Zealand and Australia.
He was a Board Director, Breast Cancer Trials (previously ANZ Breast Cancer Trials Group) from 2014-2022 and since 2016 has been a member of the Cancer Treatment Advisory Committee to Pharmac.
He works part time work in Palliative Care and has a busy private Medical Oncology practice at Crest Hospital in Palmerston North.