Ashleigh Patterson, 45, from Seaham, has said she aims to "keep fighting" after receiving the "devastating" news of her stage four cancer diagnosis. She is being supported by her friend Samantha Howard as they raise funds to pay for specialist treatment in Germany.
Diagnosis and treatment plan
Ash, as she is affectionately known, was first diagnosed with endometrial cancer in August 2024. Early the following year, she rang the 'cancer free' bell. However, in January, she was told that she had stage four cancer, which had spread to other areas, including her liver.
On her diagnosis, Ash said: "It was all just such a shock, I was told I had four months to live without treatment, and maybe an extra two months with it, so as you can imagine, I was devastated. I had to keep fighting so I opted for the treatment, the side effects are brutal but it had to be done."
She added: "The treatment has given me the time to do more, but I live in pure terror each day that I’m going to get an infection and die in hospital. After speaking to specialists, I have been able to organise a treatment plan to begin in Germany on October 7, and it feels like the miracle that I have been waiting for."
Friend's support and fundraising
Ash came into Samantha's life 13 years ago when Samantha was her mentor at Nalco Water in Newcastle, and they became close, now speaking to each other every day. Calling her "the strongest person I have ever met", Samantha shared that Ash has helped to organise charity auctions and events, as she "always wants to help others".
On her reason for setting up a GoFundMe, Samantha, 41, said: "Ash is incredible, she is such a fighter, and she is continuing to keep going despite everything that she has faced. People have been donating who worked with her over the years, showing just how loved she is."
She added: "By December 2025, she had helped to raise more than £20,000 for charities, and now, for the first time, I have been asking people to help her. Every donation is going towards her £55,000 treatment costs, and I want to make sure that she has every bit of support she can."
Community response and outlook
Sharing the foundations of her friendship, Ash continued: "She has been my angel, and there from the start supporting me through it in the best way that she possibly can. She has always wanted to do more, and she setup the GoFundMe in a heartbeat, she was over the moon that she could finally help me more, and so was I."
She added: "The support has totally overwhelmed us all, with strangers donating, and people I worked with years ago donating, as well as friends and family. Within the first 24 hours I think we’d reached £2,000, which is mind blowing, and shows that there are still good people in this crazy world."
Now Ash is looking ahead to her treatment beginning in less than two weeks, with the financial boost of the GoFundMe, which has raised £6,945 at the time of writing, thanks to the support of Samantha and the rest of her friends and family.
Speaking about what keeps her going, Ash, who recently got married, added: "My main feeling is pure terror, it’s like your worst nightmare coming true, and it is being played on repeat all day and night. People say I'm strong and a beacon of light, but I just want to live for as long as I possibly can."
She concluded: "I am a fighter, from the very start I choose the word roar to be special to me. I will always continue to roar and that’s the word everyone used now, if I slip then they remind me of my roar, and how much of a fighter I am."
