Our Founder

 Pancreatic Cancer Aotearoa / New Zealand (PCANZ) was started by Briony O'Farrell in September 2019, after losing her father a month prior to this disease, just five weeks after his diagnosis.

Briony was searching for a local, NZ-based support group specifically for people affected by pancreatic cancer, but after not finding much online or in her hometown, she decided to roll up her sleeves and create one herself! And so PCANZ was born, initially just exisiting on Facebook, but this then progressed to monthly support group coffee mornings, and a website.

Briony lives in Ōtautahi / Christchurch with her partner and their two cats, and she works full-time as a wholesale sales rep, studies Te Reo Māori part-time, and of course runs the PCANZ busniess in her spare time.

Briony is proud to be an ambassador for the Gut Cancer Foundation, who are also the charity partner of PCANZ.