Grieving widow from Woodford donates all £1,000 of expenses to Cancer Research UK
Shishu Sharma with a picture of her late husband Ravi - Credit: Archant
A woman whose husband died eight days after being diagnosed with cancer, has pledged all of her NHS travel expenses to Cancer Research UK.
Shishu Sharma, of Henley Road, Ilford, received £1,000 to cover the cost of travelling to and from hospitals for several years, after her husband, Ravi, died in March 2013.
She told the Recorder: “I’m not entitled to take this money – if the money goes to someone who needs it then that is better.
“I do not want to take this money.”
Shishu and Ravi had lived in Ilford for 34 years.
He was initially diagnosed with tuberculosis at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, in 2012.
Their daughter Sangrita, 32, became concerned when her father kept coughing.
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“He was terribly ill,” according to Shishu.
After various doctors’ appointments and second opinions, on March 16, 2013 Ravi was told he had a rare form of blood cancer, non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He died eight days later aged 63, leaving behind Shishu and their two children Shiv, 33, and Sangrita.
Since then Shishu has put her heart and soul into raising money for Cancer Research UK.
As well as donating the £1,000, the 60-year-old and some of her colleagues at Tesco, in Woodford Green, ran the Race for Life, in Hyde Park, on July 19.
Shishu said of her employer: “They have helped me so much.”
She has also set up a stall in the store, in Southend Road, and will be fundraising there until August 29.
Shishu added: “My husband Ravi was a loving, caring and generous spouse for 34 years and a devoted father to my two children.
“I want to donate this £1,000 to cancer research because there is still much more to learn about these awful diseases.”
