Kathryn’s incredible donation in honour of her husband

Before Kathryn’s husband died from bowel cancer, he made sure plans were in place to leave a donation that would support others who receive a similar diagnosis.

Because of the difficulty in seeing a GP during lockdown, my husband Abdulelah Salih didn’t get his bowel cancer diagnosis until it was too late.

He had just four days between finding out that he had a large tumour in his large intestine, and dying due to post-operative complications. It was a great shock when he was told that he had bowel cancer, but the information we found - he in his hospital bed, and I at home - on the Bowel Cancer UK website was of great value. Reading other people’s stories offered comfort and reassurance in a very scary situation.

Before Abdul went for surgery, he gave me a list of people that he wanted to leave gifts for, including a very generous sum of money to Bowel Cancer UK. He was a devoted family man, a successful business man, highly intelligent and well educated, and he had a most generous spirit, happy to share his good fortune with others.

We decided to give £200 a month for 50 months, which will be £10,000 in total to Bowel Cancer UK. The charity helped him in his hour of need, and he must’ve wanted to leave his mark by helping others in the same dire situation.

Abdul was from Iraq, but ran away in 1978 to avoid the rise of Saddam Hussein. He never returned in life, but it was always his dearest wish to be returned on his death, to join the rest of his family in the family crypt.

I urge anyone reading this to acknowledge the great work of Bowel Cancer UK, by leaving a gift in their own Will to help this fantastic charity continue with their good work.

• Request our gifts in Wills guide
• Learn more about our free Will writing services
• Find out more about our bereavement support

Above: Kathryn (left) and her husband Abdul (right).