Nearly £8,000 has been donated to help bring a Hartlepool woman back to the UK after a devastating cancer diagnosis while she was living in South Africa. Donna Hadfield, 51, has been battling metastatic small-cell lung cancer since November 2025, which spread from her lungs to her liver and pancreas. Despite encouraging results from initial chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the cancer has continued to advance.
In July this year, Donna and her wife Steph Berry were told the cancer had reached her brain. The latest scans on 30 September show it has progressed further, returning to her pancreas with new nodules detected around the inner lining of her abdomen.
Determined to return home
Nine years ago, Donna and Steph relocated to South Africa and built a 'wonderful life', but Hartlepool has always remained home for the former Brierton School pupil. With circumstances deteriorating so rapidly, the couple are determined to return to England.
Last week, friend Sam Lee, 50, launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for flights, insurance and a visa for Steph, who is South African. Within days, nearly £8,000 was donated, reports Teesside Live.
'Make whatever time we do have count'
Posting an update on the fundraising page, Steph said: "The money raised will first help us pay for our flights back to the UK. Beyond that, Donna wants to look into alternative treatments... Donna has a habit of pushing the boundaries."
She added: "She wants to use whatever time she has left to make lasting memories with the people who mean the most to her. She wants a day out in Durham with her mam, to sit with her family and friends and moan/laugh about life, to eat some proper English food, and to simply be home. I can't make any promises about how much time we have – but then again, who can? But I can promise that we want to make whatever time we do have count."
Outpouring of support
Describing Donna as a fighter, longtime friend of nearly 40 years Sam says the support has been overwhelming. The 50-year-old said: "We've now got enough money to get them home. Donna doesn't want to fly without Steph and, as she needs a visa, Steph's at the embassy on Thursday. The funds mean they can pay for the 'super fast track visa' and it is hoped they can be home in the next 10 to 14 days."
Sam added: "Donna's got brothers and sisters here, she wants to get home to her mam and her friends and family. She just desperately wants to be home. Donna is very kind and caring. She is always thinking of other people. She's also really funny and always very up beat. All she has been saying throughout this is 'it is what it is, what will be will be'. There is no self pity in her. She's a character. She'd been filming TikTok videos hoping to help other people and raise awareness."
Over 170 donations
More than 170 people have contributed a rising total of £7,950 since the fundraiser was launched. "She went to Brierton [school] and afterwards she went up to work at Butlin's in Ayrshire. So many people she used to work with have donated and are willing her home," said Sam.
"It's just been incredible. When I knew how poorly Donna was I set the fundraiser up straight away. I was just willing it to get to £100 before she saw it - every time I refreshed the page it just kept jumping up. I know how hard it is for people. I know how little money everyone has so the amount of people that have helped - whether the donation is £5 or £600 it goes a long way. People from school have donated, or that we used to hang out with when we went to 'The Gem' nightclub in Hartlepool, strangers who don't even know Donna. When she came home four years ago she helped me with my coffee wagon - former customers have donated."
Steph added to the GoFundMe page update: "Every donation, however big or small, helps us get one step closer to England and to the people Donna loves. And honestly, if you've ever loved someone enough to understand what 'I just want to get her home' means, you'll understand why we're asking. Thank you. From both of us."
