WHEN Alison Hitchcock started writing letters to a friend with cancer little did she know that four years later she’d have quit her job to pursue this as a national campaign.

She wrote more than 100 letters to tax consultant Brian Greenley when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2010.

Over the next two years, as Brian’s cancer moved from stage three to four, Alison’s letters kept on coming.

They became part of Brian’s recovery process while Alison discovered a passion for writing she never knew existed.

Four years on, Brian, 59, is now cancer free, Alison is an author and the two are best friends.

And they are now dedicated to getting others to write letters.

Alison’s amusing anecdotes attracted the attention of the BBC, which captured the friends’ uplifting story on Radio 4’s Listening Project, broadcast on Christmas Day.

The pair were touched by the positive response and decided to turn the project into a national campaign.

Now Alison and Brian have devised letter writing workshops in Brighton.

From Me To You is designed to reach across the communication divide to friends suffering from the disease.

Alison, 48, said: “From having no prior writing experience it’s incredible to know that this small act has inspired others across the country.

“When I wrote the first letter I didn’t know Brian too well, having only met on a yoga retreat.

“The letter writing has helped us forge a strong friendship that I really appreciate.”

Brian has now been clear of cancer for four years. He said: “Cancer makes you feel very disconnected. Alison’s letters reconnected me with the real world and from the letters a lifelong friendship has developed.”

The first workshop will be held on March 18 at The Writer’s Place in Jew Street, Brighton.

It aims to cover how receiving a letter can help a friend with cancer, overcoming obstacles to writing and then actually putting pen to paper. The class is open to all writing abilities.

A spokesman for From Me To You said: “Something as simple as receiving a letter can make the world of difference to a friend or family member suffering from cancer.

“We all too often hear that emotional support disappears as patients embark on surgery and treatment, as those close to them just don’t know what to say or how to communicate.

“Writing a letter is only the cost of a stamp but the effect on the person receiving it is immeasurable.”