When Coalville mum and intensive care nurse, Kathy Chauhan, lost her husband, Manish, to cancer, she also lost a trusted colleague, soulmate, and father to her two young children.

Manish died from a rare form of bowel cancer at the tragically young age of 38 and grief-stricken Kathy was left alone to bring up Kitty (3) and baby Mani (six months).

Now, three years since Manish passed away, Kathy (42) is making a stand against the disease by backing Stand Up To Cancer, the joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4.

After recently finding happiness with a new partner, Kathy and her children are raising money to help accelerate life-saving research by taking on a special challenge in memory of the larger than life character who stole her heart when he stole the bacon off her plate.

The couple were engaged within months of meeting each other on a training weekend for a charity challenge in 2010.

"We met at breakfast and he stole my bacon. I knew at once he was a character," remembers Kathy. "We just hit it off– we both had the same sense of humour and I loved his zest for life and positive attitude.

"He was known for wearing odd socks. He even wore odd socks to work and on our wedding day. He said life was too short for pairing socks. He was so right."

By the time they did their Three Peaks challenge in aid of University Hospitals Leicester, Kathy and Manish were an item.

They married in 2012 and had their first child Kitty in 2013.

By this time both of them were working at Glenfield Hospital, where Manish was a healthcare practitioner.

Tragedy struck in April 2017 when Kathy was pregnant with their second child.

"Manish didn't have any bleeding, which is the most obvious symptom for bowel cancer, but he had a feeling of not being able to empty his bowel properly, along with abdominal cramps and reflux," said Kathy.

"Initially he was treated for irritable bowel syndrome, but when his symptoms worsened I took him to hospital, where a CT scan showed inflammation in his bowel and lymph nodes."

After colonoscopies suggested nothing alarming, Manish insisted it would be fine to go on his own for the results of a biopsy.

That is when Kathy got a call from the consultant asking her to come in.

Not only was it cancer, it was a rare and aggressive type called signet cell carcinoma. Manish had only months to live.

"Work are like family to us, and Manish was an absolute legend in the hospital so the moment I arrived the senior sister grabbed me and wouldn't leave my side. I couldn't take it in. I just kept saying: 'He needs to see this baby, he needs to live for the baby'. I was 14 weeks pregnant at the time, and Kitty was three," added Kathy.

"The consultant knew I was a nurse, so he just showed me the scans.

"The cancer wasn't growing as one tumour but as tiny growths all over the place, like grains of sand. They were in his bowel, his liver, the linings of all his organs."

With intensive treatment Manish lived long enough to see his son Mani born.

He battled the disease for a year before finally succumbing to the cancer in March 2018.

Always thinking about others, Manish made sure he left his children with memories to comfort them.

He recorded his voice to be placed inside a Build-A-Bear so his children could cuddle it and hear the words: "If you need me, just close your eyes."

Kathy's sister Fay made comforters and blankets were made out of his favourite clothes by Kathy's sister Faye, so Kitty and Mani could have a 'daddy cuddle' whenever they needed one.

"The hardest thing of all was telling Kitty. How can a three-year-old understand that her daddy is going to die?" said Kathy.

"But Kitty is an incredible little girl. She has been so brave and is mature beyond her years. At Manish's funeral we packed a bag for him with all his favourite things for his 'journey'. I got choked up and couldn't speak so she stepped forward and told everyone about what was in the bag."

Manish's legacy lives on at Glenfield Hospital too.

He was in the habit of writing quotes or mottos and leaving them for people to find. When one of the wards at Glenfield was cleared for Covid patients the nurses found a previously undiscovered note from Manish.

It said: 'Dream big. Work hard. Surround yourself with good people.'

The note now has pride of place at the centre of a wall celebrating the intensive care staff fighting Covid at Glenfield.

You can see more in the above VIDEO.

Kathy is all set to give Stand Up To Cancer a leg-up by refusing to sit down all day tomorrow (Friday October 150, the day the campaign culminates with a glittering night of live TV on Channel 4.

Four-year-old Mani will be doing his part by walking to nursery and Kitty and her fellow pupils at Hugglescote Primary will be doing a host of Stand Up To Cancer activities at school to show their support.

As well as raising cash the family hopes to raise awareness of the early signs of bowel cancer and help prevent other families from being blown apart by the disease.

Kathy said: "Life does move on after loss. It is possible to love again.

"But no one can ever replace Manish, because he was unique. His children have to grow up without him, but with more research and improved treatments other families may not have to go through that pain.

"Our experience has helped me appreciate how crucial research is, so I'm determined to help more people survive.

"With charities having been hit so hard by the pandemic, it feels more important than ever for everyone to do what they can. Getting sponsored to stand up for the day is such a simple way to support research and show solidarity with everyone affected by this devastating disease.

"So, I hope people all over Leicestershire will get on their feet and stand with us on October 15. Together, we can help to make sure that cancer doesn't have a leg to stand on."

Participants can choose how and where to make their stand, whether it's on one leg, two legs, on their head, with a walking stick or by doing a wheelie every half an hour if they are a wheelchair user.

A free fundraising kit is available for inspiration and support.

In the East Midlands, around 23,400 people are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Stand Up To Cancer helps to take breakthroughs from the lab and transform them into cutting-edge treatments that could help save the lives of more people.

Anyone who cannot make the date can take part on another day or choose to fundraise in their own way. People can also show their support for the campaign, and raise money in style, with a striking range of clothing and accessories for men and women available online.

Stand Up To Cancer, now in its ninth year in the UK, has raised more than £84 million, funding 59 clinical trials and projects involving over 19,000 cancer patients across the country.

These include the development of new treatments that use viruses to fight cancer, clinical trials testing potentially more effective ways to deliver radiotherapy and improved surgical techniques for bowel cancer.

Jane Redman, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the East Midlands, said: "We are very grateful to Kathy, Kitty and Mani – and indeed to Manish - for helping us to continue our mission. One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but all of us can play a part to help beat it.

That's why we're asking everyone to Stand Up To Cancer, by fundraising or donating on Friday October 15. It really is as simple as that.

"The money raised will go directly to our life-saving research, helping our tireless scientists face their own feat of endurance to constantly develop tests and treatments for those who need them most. If we all stand united, we can save lives."

Sign up to join Kathy's fundraising efforts Sign up to join her and get a free fundraising kit HERE.