A woman is marking the anniversary of her husband’s death by backing a campaign to fund lifesaving cancer research.
Brave mother Karen McIntosh, of Lochgilphead in Argyll, married the love of her life the day before he died from the disease.
Now she is helping Cancer Research UK in a drive to encourage more people across the country to remember the charity in their wills.
A third of its pioneering work is funded through legacy giving.
The charity’s new TV and radio adverts focus on the power of a signature to do everything from registering a baby’s birth to signing a marriage certificate.
It also highlights that a signature on a will leaving a legacy gift to Cancer Research UK can fund lifesaving research to ensure future generations do not fear the disease the way people do today.
Karen faced a race against time to marry her fiance Michael James after the couple, who had two children, were told that skin cancer had spread to his lungs and brain.
It took just a week to organise their big day and she chose a wedding dress in minutes without trying it on.
Now the 35-year-old has paid tribute to the courage of her husband, who she married on October 2 last year in an emotional ceremony watched by close family including their children, Finlay, three, and Annie, one.
She is supporting Cancer Research UK’s new legacy giving campaign as she is determined no other family should have to endure what they have been through.
Speaking about the death of her forestry manager husband, Karen said: “It took months to realise that Michael is not coming back.
“You can’t go through something like this without it changing you. Sometimes I feel angry that cancer took him away, but it’s made me even more determined to get out there and do something to help stop this happening to another family.
“I know that many of the effective cancer treatments that are available today are thanks to the hard work of Cancer Research UK-funded scientists.
“I can’t get Michael back and I miss him every day but I want to do everything I can to help give other young families a future. And encouraging people to remember Cancer Research UK in their wills means we will beat cancer sooner.”
For more information on how to write a gift in a will, visit
cruk.org/WriteAnEnd
or call 0800 7076006.