Local charity Witybush Hospital Cancer Day Unit Appeal recently received its largest donation ever of £ 40,060 thanks to the support received from the members of the Savage family from Hayscastle Cross.

The charity which supports the team of clinicians who work with cancer patients at Withybush benefitted from a donation of £7,000 from Terrie Savage who ran the London Marathon in 2024 (to benefit patients which, at the time, included her father Sean Savage).

Sean, a well-known and respected businessman in the Pembrokeshire agricultural community sadly passed away in January 2025 after a long illness. Sean’s wife Nicola, together with her daughters Terrie and Georgia decided to set up a charity fundraising page in Sean’s memory as a thank you for the wonderful support Sean had received from the team at Withybush.

This raised an amazing £7,500. Additional funds were also raised in Sean’s memory this summer by Jackie and Nigel Williams who organised this year’s Irish/Welsh Tractor Run in his memory, with Sean’s good friend Dai who also asked for donations instead of birthday presents.

Nicola explained: “My family has nothing but admiration and respect for the excellent clinical care which enabled us to have Sean remain with us for as long as it was possible.

“The response we received from our friends, family and the wider community when he passed was very touching and so overwhelming. As a result, we decided to keep our fundraising going to keep Sean’s memory alive.

“When we felt able, we organised a coffee morning which included a raffle and auction and invited those who knew Sean to join us in supporting this local charity.

“Once again, the response we had was incredible from local businesses which donated fantastic auction items. We also had the support from a wonderful band of helpers who made the event happen and our wider family of friends and the farming community who joined us at the event. We will never forget their support.”

At the official presentation which was held recently at the Withybush Hospital Cancer Day Unit, charity treasurer Trish George added: “Like us, Nicola, Terrie and Georgia truly value the treatment service we have at Withybush Hospital and the wonderful support that patients receive. Their incredible donation to our charity of £40,060 is by far the largest we have ever received and we cannot thank them enough.

“Our Trustees work closely with the clinical team at Withybush throughout the year so we will continue to find as many ways as possible to make this wonderful donation really count for patients.”

The Withybush Cancer Day Unit Appeal has been fundraising for the last 16 years, and raised £728,000 to date.

It has contributed just under £250k towards the new Pembs Haematology and Oncology Day Unit (PHODU) at Withybush Hospital.

It has funded the Pembrokeshire element of the ‘Heads Up’ service for the last two years, which supports patients who are coping with hair loss as a result of their treatment.