AN AMERICAN has visited Dorset to discover how his late aunt’s legacy is making a difference to cancer sufferers.

Steve Blonstein, from California, handed over £250,000 from his late aunt’s will to the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (DCCF) two years ago.

He has now visited two projects which have benefited from Betty Hyams’ generosity – the county’s first ‘Betty Bus’ providing a haven for cancer patients and The Orchard Garden at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

The 55-year-old said: “It’s fantastic to come back to Dorset and see how my aunt’s money has been used to help people with cancer.”

The ‘Betty Bus’ is a new mobile counselling service and information point for cancer sufferers. Steve officially launched the bus with Jeff Mostyn, the chairman of AFC Bournemouth and patron of Dorset Cancer Care Foundation.

He said: “When I asked DCCF to find suitable projects for her money I placed a great deal of responsibility on them. But the Betty Bus is an excellent idea which I am sure my aunt would have loved. It’s great to know her legacy will live on in this way.”

Operated by the Wessex Cancer Trust, the transformed mobile home will make weekly stops in rural areas where traditional cancer support may not be available. Emotional support will be offered through Wessex Cancer Trust’s trained befrienders.

Steve also visited The Orchard Garden used by people undergoing cancer treatment.

The 55-year-old said: “This is a wonderful place, a real oasis of calm and beauty which I hear is already benefiting many patients every day.”

“She would have loved this garden and it’s great to know her legacy will live on here.”

Betty died in 2013 aged 86, leaving Steve and his sister Anne as beneficiaries of her will. She stated if either passed away from cancer, their share should be awarded to a cancer charity. As Anne died from cancer, Steve, who grew up in Dorchester and Wimborne, wanted it help people in Dorset.

Chris Thomas, the Chairman of DCCF, said: “We are deeply honoured that Steve entrusted us to administer what have become the Betty Hyams Awards.”

“While it has been very hard to choose between so many great projects across the county, we have no doubt that the Betty Bus, The Orchard Garden and the others we have chosen will benefit local people with cancer for many years to come.”

Lewis-Manning Hospice in Poole also received two Betty Hyams awards, including £18,500 towards a treatment room where day patients can receive medication they need through the night.

The Betty Bus will visit Poundbury, Wareham and Shaftesbury from January and anyone can drop in between 10am and 4pm. For information go to wessexcancer.org/bettybus, bournemouthhospitalcharity.org or dccf.co.uk