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.
Most Read
- 1 East London man charged with six terrorism offences
- 2 Covid survivor, 16, urges people to get jabbed after months in hospital
- 3 Fairlop Waters car park to transform into ice-rink for Christmas
- 4 What are the chances of a white Christmas in London?
- 5 Barking cash and carry boss jailed for five years for money laundering
- 6 Nine rescue pets looking for homes this Christmas in east London
- 7 Travel disruptions to look out for this week across east London
- 8 Call for witnesses after man, 54, dies following Eastern Avenue collision
- 9 All under 40s to be offered Covid booster jab
- 10 Warnings of ice across London amid plummeting temperatures
“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.”
