Two colleagues have helped set up a charitable foundation after they both lost family members to aggressive forms of cancer.

Raffingers employees Susan Kew and Lauren Aston helped set up the Raffingers Foundation earlier this year after members of their family died from pancreatic and ovarian cancer.

The accountant firm in Southend Road, South Woodford has always given to charity, but in February the two women decided it should give to causes closer to home.

Mrs Kew, of Trotwood in Chigwell, said: “My husband Jason was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago and lost his battle in August last year.

“We were so positive and even when the doctors told him there was nothing they could do he still said ‘I’m going to beat this’, but it was so aggressive it spread to his liver.

“It seems like once you’ve got it, that’s it.”

The 43-year-old raised over £2,000 for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund after her husband died.

She said: “When he died people wanted to send flowers, but I told them I wanted all the money to go charity.

“There hasn’t been enough research done so only three per cent of people survive, which is incredibly low.

“It’s such an awful disease, it turned my life upside down, so we need to do more to stop it.”

Mrs Kew’s colleague Lauren Aston lost her mother Victoria to ovarian cancer in 2010.

The 27-year-old, of Snakes Lane East in Woodford Green, said: “When I first started at Raffingers me, Susan and our ex-colleague Paula had all been affected by cancer, so we thought it would be good if we could give to more personal causes.

“My mum had symptoms, but the doctors just brushed them off.

“She put on weight because you get a lot of excess fluid, and one doctor gave her a pregnancy test and the other refused to comment on her weight.

“There’s a real lack of awareness. Breast cancer has had a lot of attention so people know the symptoms, but with the survival rates so low for ovarian cancer, there’s still a lot more work to do.”

Raffingers will be supporting Ovarian Cancer Action and the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund with events such as Tough Mudder and London to Brighton cycle ride throughout this year.

Founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, Maggie Banks said: “We’re honoured to have been chosen and immensely grateful to Raffingers for supporting us in tackling this complex and aggressive cancer.”

Ovarian Cancer Action’s chief executive Katherine Taylor added: “A woman in the UK dies of ovarian cancer every two hours, but with the help of supporters like Raffingers we can fund pioneering research at the Ovarian Cancer Action Research Centre which will give women the best chances of survival.”

To donate to the Raffingers Foundation, see the website.

http://www.raffingers.co.uk/community/