22 April 2016 - Since recovering from suspected incurable melanoma, 73-year-old Bob 'Bukit' Hill jumped off Auckland's Sky Tower, received his first tattoo, and has taken up training for a half-marathon, which he will walk next month.

The president of the Masterton Returned Services Association was told in 2013 that he could be dead within six months, but today he is full of life and checking off his bucket list.

Mr Hill beat melanoma thanks to a clinical drug trial that cleared the cancer which had spread to his lungs and liver and caused regrowth of a large tumour in the wall of his chest.

The Masterton grandfather is advocating for the melanoma drug which extended his life, pembrolizumab, to be made available to others suffering from the disease. He recently presented a petition to Parliament urging this, and said he was doing the marathon "to try and make the New Zealand Government and Pharmac aware that the drug is successful".

Mr Hill said he was frustrated Pharmac would not fund the drug and, although they had approved it, they had classed it a low priority.

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