‘I will die because I don’t have the money’

Expensive overseas treatment is the only chance of a happy ever after for a Cork woman waging her second battle against stage four cancer.

Every minute passed and every cent raised is crucial for Debbie Morris who this year was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumour, having beaten stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020 – a completely separate cancer.

Now, Debbie’s only chance of long-term survival is to travel to Germany for oncology-immunotherapy and vaccine treatment which are currently not available in Ireland and are not covered by health insurance.

Recalling the beginning of Debbie’s latest nightmare, her partner Cormac shared a terrifying moment during what should have been a time of excitement and celebration for the new couple.

“On St Stephen’s Day 2025 Debbie looked at me worryingly and mentioned a phantom smell and a sharp headache.

“I could see in Debbie’s face that she knew something was wrong,” Cormac told the Cork Independent.

Earlier in 2025, Debbie and Cormac had gone on a trip to Germany from which they each returned with a cough.

While Cormac went on to develop a fever, Debbie developed a severe case of meningitis which progressed to ventriculitis.

Ventriculitis is an extremely dangerous complication which nearly cost Debbie her life, but she pulled through and life returned to normal until St Stephen’s Day.

Doctors initially put Debbie’s new symptoms down to a number of potential causes, but it wasn’t until she was referred to the Beacon Hospital in Dublin that her worst fears became a reality. She was diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma brain tumour with a survival rate of months, not years.

“Debbie turned to me and said, ‘I am going to do everything I can do to survive this’. She got through the surgery only seven weeks ago and has been fighting her way back to normal every day,” said Cormac.

“You look at the face of the person you love deeply, and you don’t have the skills or words to help them, but they look back with tears in their eyes and you feel helpless,” he said.

Debbie has improved following surgery, helped along hugely by the support of her family, especially her mum and dad, who Cormac said are “nothing short of inspirational”.

“Without them, life would be impossible,” said Cormac.

The road ahead is a tough one for Debbie and her close circle of family and loved ones. She has already started standard treatment here in Ireland, and with her specialised treatment set to start in August, she will be required to spend five days a month for the next seven months in Germany, with the first round of treatment set to cost over one hundred thousand euros. She will then need to pay for maintenance treatment which will cost up to twenty six thousand euro every year.

“It’s prohibitively expensive,” said Cormac.

“Debbie often says, ‘I will die because I don’t have the money’.”

A GoFundMe campaign set up to give Debbie a fighting chance for a future has raised over €70k of an initial target of €80k. This campaign is the difference between life and death for the young Cork woman.

Cormac said: “Every day I get to see Debbie, for an hour or so, and then she must go to bed or fall asleep on my shoulder while on the couch. The tiredness is overwhelming.

“Every day turns into the next. A cruel reality. But there is hope.

“Although Debs and I are only going out together less than two years, we had started to plan our future. All that is on hold now, but with the help of the treatment in Germany, we hope to get our happy every after and just be a normal couple again, going out for dinner, having a pint on a Friday with friends, walking the dogs, going over to Musgrave Park, or a weekend away. The GoFundMe to pay for the treatment is our only hope,” said Cormac.

Any donation big or small is hugely appreciated by Debbie and her loved ones. Without reaching the target, she will be unable to access available treatments that could grant her a long and happy life.

To donate, visit gofundme.com and look for the campaign called ‘Help Debbie Get the Treatment That Could Save Her Life’.