A TAUNTON woman who raised more than £10,000 for a cancer charity after her husband was diagnosed with leukaemia has been shortlisted for a national award.

Samantha Safe, 48, started fundraising for blood cancer charity, Anthony Nolan, in 2014 after her husband, Simon, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

The dedicated fundraiser has been shortlisted as a finalist in the the Group Fundraiser of the Year category at the Anthony Nolan Supporter Awards (ANSAs) and said she started fundraising just days after her husband was diagnosed.

“Within days of him being diagnosed and us not really knowing the severity at that point my daughter had already said to me that we need to do some fundraising.

"I understood Amy’s enthusiasm but we didn’t quite know what was happening at the time," Samantha said.

Simon was told by doctors that a stem-cell transplant was his best chance for survival and after months of searching he had a stem-cell transplant in November 2014 and is now in remission.

While Simon was receiving treatment, the mother of four and her daughter, Amy, did a number of half marathons and 5k races in 2015 to raise money for the charity but in 2016 they went one step further and took on the London Marathon.

The pair organised a grand ball with help of their friend, Heather Mill and between them they raised more than £10,000.

This year Samantha passed on the fundraising baton to two of her friends, Lisa Brown and Jenny Sanderson, who ran the London Marathon.

She also helped them in making their second ball a big success, raising nearly £12,000.

Despite saying she’d never do it again, Samantha has now signed up to the London Marathon in 2018 and will be holding the third annual charity ball to raise money ahead of the event.

She said: “I sometimes say ‘I don’t want you to give money, just sign up to the register or encourage someone else to do it’.

"Being able to raise awareness and get people on the register means so much more to me.”

Henny Braund, chief executive at Anthony Nolan thanked Samantha and her family for going 'above and beyond' to raise money for the charity.

“Samantha and her family and friends are incredible, passionate supporters and we’re delighted they are being recognised for all of the hard work they have all put into supporting Anthony Nolan.

“While many people support Anthony Nolan, enabling us to carry out our lifesaving work, Samantha and her team have gone above and beyond in raising both funds and awareness for our charity and the life-saving register.

“This year’s awards will be a fitting occasion to bring our wonderful supporters together and thank them for helping us to save the lives of three people every day.”

The awards ceremony takes place on 28th November in the House of Commons and winners will be announced at the event. For more information, go to www.anthonynolan.org/awards