A Hatherleigh woman has launched a charity to help chemotherapy patients in memory of her late husband.

CHEMOtivation has been set up by Marian Southwick, whose husband Bob passed away earlier this year after a brave fight against pancreatic cancer.

Marian wants other cancer patients to benefit from the same practical support Bob received in being given a ‘box of kindness’ to help deal with the side effects of chemotherapy.

CHEMOtivation plans to give anyone undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy at the Royal Devon NHS University Trust, Exeter a ‘Hope in a Tote’ bag containing essential items to motivate people during their treatment.

The charity is being launched at Hatherleigh Community Centre on Saturday (September 28) with a Big Breakfast from 8.30-11.30am to raise awareness and recruit a team of volunteers to help raise funds.

Marian also needs to find people willing to coordinate fundraising in their local community, as the catchment area for Royal Devon NHS University Trust is vast, taking in patients from Bude in Cornwall to the Somerset border.

The Cherrybrook Cancer Centre, which delivers chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Exeter, has agreed to hand out the starter tote bags as patients embark on their course of treatment.

The tote bags will include things to deal with a range of side effects, including fatigue, nausea, feeling cold, mouth ulcers and the metallic taste that comes with chemotherapy.

There will also be a thermometer to check for changes in temperature that may indicate sepsis, together with goodies to help pass the time, as chemotherapy is very slow treatment.

CHEMOtivation is also looking for space to store the contents of the tote bags and an area where volunteers can pack the bags, ideally as near to the Royal Devon NHS University Trust as possible.

The charity hopes to deliver 3,000 tote bags each year to match the number of people receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy through the Cherrybrook Centre.

“Bob had no idea what to expect from chemotherapy, but he knew that without it there was no hope,” says Marian.

“Those were dark times, but the ‘box of kindness’ Bob was given on his very first day of treatment lifted his heart and gave him hope for the future, and the fight that was coming.”

Bob received his treatment at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple and the box was donated by Chemohero – a charity founded by Lisa and Rob Wallis.

“It was incredible,” continues Marian. “As Bob began his treatment, he vowed that if he was given an extension to his life he would spend any extra time helping others.

“Out of this came the idea for CHEMOtivation – a charity that would provide a ‘Hope in a Tote’ starter kit for anyone undertaking chemotherapy or radiotherapy at the Cherrybrook Centre in Exeter.”