THE widower of a 28-year-old woman, who died within three months of being diagnosed with cancer, is organising a charity event to help other young people with life-threatening conditions. Sam Sullivan, her husband Paul, and their four-year-old daughter Al

THE widower of a 28-year-old woman, who died within three months of being diagnosed with cancer, is organising a charity event to help other young people with life-threatening conditions.

Sam Sullivan, her husband Paul, and their four-year-old daughter Alex, had just moved into their new home on Sheepcroft Hill in Stevenage in June this year when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Mr Sullivan, 31, said: "We moved in, and within a week she was collapsing. By the time she was diagnosed, the cancer had spread to her liver and lymph nodes. It was horrendous."

Just before Mrs Sullivan started chemotherapy she was approached by the Willow Foundation - a charity which offers special days for seriously ill 16 to 40-year-olds. "She was supposed to choose a day and go out with the family and forget about the illness," said Mr Sullivan. "But she deteriorated so quickly she never got the opportunity to." Mrs Sullivan, a stay-at-home mum, died on August 23.

Mr Sullivan said: "Sam was a very lovely, sweet person. She was very kind and would do anything for anybody. She was a loving mum, and was very artistic."

He said his wife, whom he had been married to for five years, had been very excited about the prospect of a special day out with her family. "To see the smile on her face when she was offered it was a beautiful thing," he said. "It would have been really lovely."

Mr Sullivan and his wife's family and friends are organising a charity event at Stevenage Borough Football Club, to raise money for the Willow Foundation.

The event on Friday, November 6, will include live music from three bands, a disco, and a performance by fire dancers. There will also be an auction and a raffle, with prizes including a Nintendo Wii, a digital camera, mobile phones, massages, and haircuts.

There are still a few tickets, at �5 each, left for the event, which starts at 8pm. Email Mr Sullivan at willowscharitygig@hotmail.co.uk if you would like tickets, or if you can offer a prize for the auction or raffle. Also, if you are a business and would like to sponsor the event, Mr Sullivan would like to hear from you.