A mother with stage four breast cancer has initiated a project which has seen pink rubber ducks travel the world to keep her “memory alive”.
Bex Hainsworth, 36, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and underwent a mastectomy on her right breast, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
In 2019, she found out the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and then her lungs in 2020 and her spine, both her leg bones, liver, lungs and brain in 2022.
Rubber ducks on their way to different locations (Bex Hainsworth/PA)
In a bid to provide a positive legacy for her three-year-old daughter Chloe Mae, who she referred to as her “miracle girl”, she thought up the idea of trying to get pink rubber ducks with pink ribbon logos – an international symbol of breast cancer awareness – to as many parts of the UK as possible.
“(The project) gets us out there, it gets us to different places, it gets us making memories and it’s for the future as well for when I’m not here – to keep my memory alive,” Mrs Hainsworth, who lives with her family in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, told the PA news agency.
Mrs Hainsworth purchased more than 5,000 rubber ducks from an online supplier and created a Facebook group called “Cmducks” four months ago, which now has more than 400 members.
The rubber duck project was initiated by Bex Hainsworth (Bex Hainsworth/PA)
Those interested in the initiative are encouraged to contact Mrs Hainsworth to get a duck – which has a tag attached explaining her cancer story and the project – and take a photo of the location it has been left in.
So far, hundreds of ducks have found a home in UK locations including Co Durham, Gateshead and Birmingham.
They have even made their way overseas to destinations including Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
One of the ducks (Bex Hainsworth/PA)
“We would have never dreamt it would get this big – they’re absolutely everywhere,” Mrs Hainsworth said.
“We’ve had such beautiful comments on Facebook.
“We had a lovely post from someone that had been in the British Army who took pictures of him with a duck next to tanks.
“These are perfect strangers that are just willing to take ducks on adventures to make us smile – it’s just heartwarming and we’re hopefully spreading a little joy as well.”
She said her daughter “absolutely loves” being part of the project.
“We love leaving them in places and taking pictures of them and we love when we see little ones holding the ducks and smile when they’re finding them,” she said.
The family said the project has brought them joy (Bex Hainsworth/PA)
“We add tags to all the ducks and we laminate them with our little story and she connects all the tags to the little duckies.
“We’ve got a big ducky board of the UK map so we’ve added ducky pins to where they’ve all turned up.”
Mrs Hainsworth’s husband Ashley said the ducks have also helped to provide comfort for those who have cancer or know someone who does.
“There was a child with brain cancer that found this and another couple that were losing their father to stage four cancer, so many have found solace through this,” Mr Hainsworth, who is a 37-year-old managing director at Bed Kingdom, a furniture company, told PA.
Mrs Hainsworth added: “Cancer affects everyone really, every family knows somebody that has got it so seeing the messages come through is absolutely lovely.”
The ducks have travelled to numerous UK and international locations (Bex Hainsworth/PA)
The family have also been donating to various charities through the initiative – for example, the Candlelighters Trust, which provides practical and emotional support to children fighting cancer in Yorkshire.
“We’ve also supported MacMillan and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI),” Mrs Hainsworth said.
“We had a little 10-month old that found one that had a rare eye cancer so we donated to the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust.”
Mr Hainsworth added: “I’m happy to put my hand in my pocket and make some donations as it gives some tangible benefit for people’s time for what they’re doing.”
Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving, said: “Chloe Mae is an amazing young girl. Like so many others, I’ve been incredibly moved by her fundraising efforts and all that she has achieved so far.
“The entire JustGiving team wish Chloe Mae the very best of luck in her fundraising mission and we cannot wait to see where her ducks turn up next!”
The family’s JustGiving page can be accessed here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/cmducks