In 2015 Susmita’s mother, Asha, was diagnosed with stage 4 endometrial cancer – this is cancer that starts in the lining of the womb. Asha was treated for three years at The Royal Marsden before she sadly died in 2018. She had surgery at The Royal Marsden in Chelsea, as well as both chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Sutton hospital.
“Me or my dad or my sister, one of us would always go with Mum to chemotherapy and radiation” says Susmita. “Sometimes she would be in hospital for months at a time, because she was really unwell, but the ward had a trundle bed which meant I could stay with her. So it felt like I spent a lot of time at the hospital.”
“The Royal Marsden became a big part of our lives as a family, and we were so lucky that it was nearby for us. The care Mum got there was so good that it made it much easier.”
Inspired by The Royal Marsden’s magazine
To give back to the hospital that cared for her Mum, Susmita had been looking for a way to support The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. She was inspired when she picked up an edition of RM – The Royal Marsden’s hospital magazine: “It wasn’t until I saw a special occasion giving story in a previous edition of RM that I realised it was something we could do too!”
Special occasion giving is a chance for our supporters to turn any kind of special event into a way of fundraising for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity – from birthdays, to weddings and anniversaries.
“We planned it quite last minute, but the team at The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity were amazing at getting everything sent out to us, and they even sent us a card which was so touching!”
Stylish Charity pin badges
“Quite often you give people favours and they just get left on the table at the end of the evening or no one uses them - you spend money on things that are wasted. So instead, we had the donation as our main favour and gave everyone a Royal Marsden Cancer Charity pin badge, so people could wear them.”
“The pin actually went really well with my jewellery! It was really funny because it had oranges and blues, and I was wearing jewellery which also had similar colours. I also had a charm on my bouquet which had a picture of my mother on it.”
The Big Day
Susmita and Dhivant ‘s wedding was nearly derailed when their venue cancelled on them at the last minute, owing to the General Election. However, they managed to find another location which was large enough to house their 400 guests, many of whom had flown in from overseas to celebrate the happy couple.
“It was a really lovely day, and it was just nice to have family and friends and everyone together,” Susmita said. “It's not often you get that many loved people in one space. So it did feel really lovely.”
“Giving out the pin badges and making the donation, it wasn’t just meaningful for us - we felt like it resonated with so many of our guests as well. So many of our friends now have parents who have had cancer scares or know people who have sadly died – everyone has a connection to cancer nowadays.”
Now, Susmita has come full circle, as her own special occasion giving story was featured in the most recent edition of RM magazine: “I would love to inspire others because I know that if I hadn’t seen it, I would never even have realised that it was an option!”
Get involved with special occasion giving
If you’re inspired by Susmita’s story, you too can turn any special event in a reason to fundraise for us. It doesn’t have to just be birthdays and weddings, it can be any other meaningful milestone!