Style: January 08, 2020

32 STYLE | people
WINE, LAUGHTER & TEARS
Shocking Pink’s chairperson Anna Manson recently won a Kiwibank
Local Hero medal. She talks to Shelley Robinson about impromptu
speeches, scan anxiety, and the ‘other side’ of cancer.
had seven surgeries. It was a helluva lot. You go full thrust
straight into it. The year before my relationship had ended,
and everything was back on track, I had a good job and yeah.
Anna Manson
Congratulations Anna on your award – did you partake in
a few celebration reds last night?
[Laughs] Yeah, it was a good night. Gosh, you should’ve seen
the calibre of people, I felt really out of my league. There was
a guy who was there after the mosque attack [March 15] and
a guy who had served for St John for 60 years. I was just like,
‘Wow.’ It was humbling, really humbling.
You are not so shabby yourself I hear.
I don’t know about that! But they didn’t warn us that we
could speak when we got our medal and then everyone
started speaking and I was like, ‘Oh no, I should have had
more wine at the start of the night!’ So I had to do an offthe-cuff
speech, it was really embarrassing.
Oh no, you didn’t go all Kanye (West) did you?
[Laughs] No! I just talked about this argument I had with my
friend on the night the awards were first announced. She
was on Facebook commenting on the post saying, ‘Anna, you
got an award’, and I was like, ‘No, don’t be ridiculous there is
more than one Anna Manson’ and she was like ‘I really think
you need to take this seriously’, and I was like ‘Whatever.’
And then the woman from Kiwibank contacted me on
Facebook and said, ‘Anna, it is you’ and I was like ‘Oh!’ So
yeah, that is what I said in my speech!
So, where have I caught you today?
I’m just at Christchurch Hospital getting chemo with my
son. It’s not for me this time. He’s got a brain tumour that
is benign, so the chemo is trying to reduce the size of the
tumour.
You’ve had a heck of a journey to Shocking Pink. Talk to
me about that.
I was diagnosed at 31 with breast cancer, so it’s about
seven and a half years ago. It’s all a bit hazy now, which is
probably a good thing. I’ve had a mastectomy, done chemo
and radiation, been through umpteen amounts of drugs and
And then you got told the news?
Yeah. Well, after two weeks of biopsies, scans and blood
tests they called me to the office. And they told me to bring
a support person, so I guess I kind of knew then. And they
said, unfortunately, it is breast cancer. I said a few choice
words and then I didn’t really hear anything after that.
Within seven days I was having surgery. You don’t have time
to adjust.
What is your role with Shocking Pink?
I’m the chairperson and oversee the organisation of the
charity. I just organised the getaway too. This year, 30 went
to Queenstown. We joke that between us we have about
10 breasts [laughing] so yeah, there is a bit of dry humour
that goes around. Shocking Pink helps young women with
any concerns they have and also financially, because having
cancer is really expensive, we just help get you through to
the other side.
What does the other side look like?
It can be frightening. Your world becomes full of scans,
tests and treatment, and then it is all quiet and that can be
terrifying. Suddenly, you are on your own and that is when
the post-traumatic stress can really start to kick in. You are
you, but you are totally different. And that can be really
scary. We have people say who are 10 years on, saying they
still have bad days and they feel guilty. But that is just what
happens. Like scan anxiety. Getting a mammogram can bring
up the emotions of the time when you were diagnosed. And
suddenly you are back there again. Your hair has grown back
and you have two breasts again, but that doesn’t stop the
memories or the emotions.
How did you get through?
A lot of wine, I’m not going to lie [laughing]! Just putting one
foot in front of the other. If I was having a terrible time I’d lie
in bed and hop online [to the Facebook page] and instantly
there was this support from women. You know, they’d say,
‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been there.’
That is quite a whirlwind. Where do you call home now?
I live in Springfield, just out of Christchurch. It’s my little spot
of paradise. I have cows, calves and turkeys. We’re having a
party out there for Shocking Pink. Everyone is just going to
pitch up a tent out the back.
I bet there will be a bit of wine involved too?
[Laughs] There will be a lot of wine and laughter and tears.