Photography: Robert Trathen
Stage three breast cancer took a lot from Zeisha Fremaux Wood – her breasts, lymph nodes, ovarian function, career and confidence. So she thought, it had also taken her dream of being a mother.
Diagnosed at the age of just 36, Zeisha experienced one of the darkest periods of her life as she bravely fought the insidious illness. But just four years on from her lowest point, the Auckland DJ has transformed in ways she could’ve never imagined.
Now the reigning Mrs New Zealand, Zeisha, 40, is not only a proud mother to her one-year-old son Aperahama. She’s also preparing to give birth to another child later this year.
She shares, “My experiences have made me appreciate the little moments. People move quickly through life – and I used to – always building, grinding and never saying no. I’m not saying I’m lazy now – I’m saying I know how to take time to understand the way my body is feeling. I trust that my intuition will tell me when something’s not right.”
A devastating blow
At the time of her diagnosis, Zeisha’s DJ career was at an all-time high, with gigs booked at major festivals across Aotearoa and Australia. But after her diagnosis, all this went on hold. Instead of hitting the stage, she underwent a mastectomy and breast reconstruction. This was followed by seven gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiotherapy.
“Breast cancer took my career, it took my breasts and it meant I had to freeze my ovaries – they weren’t functioning,” she says, explaining that her levels of AMH – a hormone that indicates your ovarian reserve – were “non-existent”.
Even her lymph nodes were affected. Due to treatment, Zeisha also went through early menopause after taking a drug called Zoladex to preserve what ovarian reserves she had left.
Being told pregnancy was unlikely was another heartbreaking blow for the high achiever and her husband Ethan, 25.
“We were going through the process of trying to freeze embryos and none of them worked,” says Zeisha.
“I realised how much I wanted to be a mother and how much I’d put that dream on hold for a career.”
Her baby miracle
Incredibly, a year after Zeisha was confirmed to be cancer-free, her baby dream came true. She became pregnant with Aperahama, named for his maternal grandmother’s maiden name, Abraham, translated back to te reo Māori.
“It was pretty incredible!” Zeisha recalls.
“Ethan has always believed that we would have a baby. I don’t know if it’s blind faith, but he’s always had that. And it helped me believe that this was achievable for us. If left up to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have been able to fathom that it was possible after going through so much treatment.”
Describing her son as cheeky, just like his dad, as Woman’s Day chats to her, she laughs about how “he’s pulling off his socks right now”!
“He’s quite conversational. He loves to meet new people. He hates wearing shoes, and he’s very loving and caring.”
It was her family’s support – and a desire to rediscover herself as a breast cancer survivor and a new mum – that led Zeisha to enter the 8 pageant. It’s a competition open to women 25 and over. She didn’t compete to win the crown, instead it was a way of trying to find herself again.
“Entering at 40 just meant so much to me, to be able to speak to my purpose, and show my son the kind of mother and woman I am. I lost a bit of confidence over the years and lost a bit of myself, as you do in motherhood. And obviously breast cancer took a huge part of me. I was just realigning with my purpose, my goals, my future and what it means to be me now.”
The icing on the cake
Reflecting on the moment the winner was announced, Zeisha, who is of Ngāti Kahu and Ngāpuhi descent, describes her shock. She was stunned to discover she’d been successful.
“I was standing there and thought, ‘I’m happy because I got this far!’ I didn’t do it for the pageant. I did it for myself. I did it to understand what I want out of life. When my name was announced, it was just the icing on the cake.”
And while she was thrilled to win the glitzy crown, nothing compares to the happiness Zeisha felt when she discovered she’s now pregnant with her and Ethan’s second child. The baby is due in December.
“It feels insane because I’d already gotten my blessing with Aperahama,” says Zeisha, who has continued to juggle her DJ gigs and advocacy work with her role at Buzzlty, a digital platform that gives rangatahi a voice on issues, from housing and employment, to climate change and politics.
“It means everything to me to come through so many challenges, to be faced with a near-death experience and to know that God’s timing has all worked out for the best.”
Follow Zeisha on Instagram @zeisha.
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