Sitting down to make a card or a lovely piece of jewellery is one of the few times Rhyanne Griffiths forgets she is ill.

The 20-year-old finds she can focus on something she enjoys and lose herself in the activity.

Rhyanne has cervical and ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed in May 2013 after almost a decade of being “fobbed off” by doctors.

By the time the cancer was detected, it had spread to her ovaries and later spread to one of her kidneys.

Rhyanne has been through chemotherapy and had several operations to remove tumours and she is currently undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

She says: “Making crafts has change things for me. It gives me something to accomplish and see finished even on the days when I don’t get any good news.

“It is hard to explain, but when I start working on a card it is something to focus on and I don’t have to be sick for a while.”

Rhyanne had been going to the GP since she was nine with symptoms which were later put down to heavy and painful periods, but never followed up with screening treatments.

It wasn’t until she moved to Chelmsford and saw a new GP that she was given a smear test which led to the cervical cancer being detected.

She says: “I was going back and forth to the doctors for years and given ten different contraceptive pills to take. I don’t want anyone else to go through that.

“Howmany women need to die before they change the rules? I think if a young woman has ongoing problems she should be allowed to have a smear test.”

Now Rhyanne is working on a project to make craft starter packs for cancer patients and their family members.

She explains: “Being in hospital, whether you are a patient or family, can be a difficult time.

“People who are having treatment don’t always want to read a book and people visiting them can sometimes find it hard to think about something to say that is about cancer.

“Crafts let people be together and fill the silence and the boredom and help kids going through bereavement to have something to focus on.”

Rhyanne makes wooden hearts, felt hearts, cards and jewellery amongst other crafts and she wants to create some bumper packs for families.

“Our packs would be for all the family with knitting, painting, card-making, decoupage to glittered goodies!

“There will be the tools and the required materials to get you started and ‘how to’ guides.”

Rhyanne, who grew up in Laindon, has got all of her family involved with the craft making.

She first got into making crafts in the lead-up to her marriage to Josh in 2013.

“We made a lot of things for the wedding ourselves, such as bracelets for the favours, the sweetie buffet, invitations and the order of service.

“I discovered I loved it and now I want to reach out to more people with crafts.

“I am hoping to raise mony for the packs and distribute them to Broomfield Hospital, Springfield Hospital and Great Ormond Street and eventually further afield.”

Eventually Rhyanne wants to set up a charity combining a support network for cancer patients and the Crafts for Cancer project.

She says: “I want to create a place where people, at all stages of cancer treatment, can come and get positive support.”

ý Each of the packs costs between £10-£20 to produce. If you would like to donate contact craftsforcanceruk@gmail.com and log on to tinyurl.com/o4grr4g