This is the moment a Nebraska mum diagnosed with cancer had the present of a lifetime - when her son secretly travelled 1,500 miles across the country to surprise her last Christmas Eve.

Debora Hendry, 60, was diagnosed with lung cancer after doctors found a tumour the size of an egg on her lung.

Undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the mother-of-six was preparing for what she feared might be her last Christmas with her family.

But one person was missing - son Jacob Hendry, 32, a student studying mechanical engineering, who lived 1,500 miles away.

Video filmed on December 24, 2018 shows their emotional reunion on the doorstep at the family home in Fremont, Nebraska.

Jacob had traveled from UC Berkeley in California.

This is the moment a mum diagnosed with cancer had the present of a lifetime - when her son secretly travelled 1,500 miles to surprise her on Christmas Eve.

Debora Hendry, 60, was diagnosed with lung cancer after doctors found a tumour the size of an egg on her lung. Undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the mother-of-six was preparing for what she feared might be her last Christmas with her family.