Here you can take a closer look at the safety card drawn by Ben Williams. Below the safety card you will find information about mine and Ben's inspiration behind the various sections.

The Chemotherapy Airways safety card's layout and icons appear similar to a standard airline safety card but rather than instructions on how to do up your seatbelt, it shows how to fasten your IV. Rather than showing oxygen masks falling from above, it shows wigs falling from above. Rather than instructions on how to put on a life vest, it shows how to put on "life pyjamas". It shows the toggle for adjusting the life pyjamas and also that you can use your mobile phone as a light. Rather than showing the usual brace position with a passenger bent over with their hands on their head, here the brace position is a person lying asleep on their front. The bottom panel shows the lcoation of the toilets onboard the aircraft.

The Chemotherapy Airways logo features an airplane, the body of which is a syringe. Many years ago I drew a building that was shaped like a syringe and this gave me the idea to do the same with a plane. Ben was able to bring my vision to life beautifully. Out of the rear of the plane a ribbon emerges, similar to a vapour trail, and swoops around the aircraft. This is a nod to the various cancer ribbons used to raise awareness.

Hot pink and white were chosen as the brand colours as I had breast cancer, which has a pink ribbon. Those colours would also be eye catching and differentiate Chemotherapy Airways from most real airlines.

The Chemotherapy Airways font is Frutiger. This font was created by its namesake Adrian Frutiger to be clear and highly legible at both a distance and in small sizes.

We picked this font as it is one of those used by the NHS. When reading more about it we discovered it is also used in several airports around the world, which only made it even more perfect.

Chemotherapy
Airways

Anyone who has flown will be familiar with the 'no high heels' icon in reference to emergency evacuations via an airplane's slides.

I rarely felt like dressing up whilst undergoing chemo. After all being comfortable was important during a time when my body didn't feel like my own. That's why, on a Chemotherapy Airways flight, we encourage the wearing of slippers.

Of course smoking is never good for you but it is particularly important not to smoke during cancer treatment.

Finally, whilst use of laptops is not allowed during take-off and landing on a real flight, on Chemotherapy Airways, any safe source of entertainment is encouraged.

The fasten infusion instructions from the Chemotherapy Airways safety card. The illustration shows an arm with a PICC line coming out of the inside upper face of it. A close up shows the end of the PICC line facing the end of an IV line with red arrows beneath indicating that they should be connected.

A normal airplane's safety card will have instructions on how to fasten your seatbelt. Onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight however, the instructions are to "fasten your infusion". Of course this is never something you would do yourself, an oncology nurse or doctor would do it for you. Nevertheless it symbolises getting ready for your flight.

I had a PICC line (or peripherally inserted central catheter) inserted into my arm to help the chemotherapy drugs diffuse through my bloodstream quickly. This is why the icon shows the catheter coming out of the inside of my upper arm.

Safety card instructions for the yellow life pyjamas available onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight. The illustrations show that these can be found under a passenger's seat and should be put on by pulling them down over the head.

There are no life vests onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight.

Instead each passenger will find "life pyjamas" located underneath their seat. These are cosy and comfortable and can be worn as much and as often as desired.

I spent much of my treatment in sweatpants. And that's ok.

Chemotherapy Airways safety card illustration showing a bald passenger in yellow pyjamas with a mobile phone in the breast pocket. The torch of the mobile phone is switched on.

Whilst travelling on your Chemotherapy Airways flight, you can use your mobile phone as a light and a whistle to attract attention.

During the tougher days of my chemo, I would sometimes text or phone Ben from my bed because I didn't have the energy to go downstairs to speak to him directly. I could also phone friends or family to catch-up.

A mobile phone can be a lifeline.

Unfortunately the food onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight is not particularly good. The menu will be limited and will not include foods such as unpasteurised cheeses or raw fish (as you might find in sushi) as these would be risky for passengers to consume.

The food can also taste strange or unpleasant and, if your mouth is sore, eating can prove painful. Your flight attendant may suggest saltwater rinses or mouthwash to help reduce this and prevent infection.

For me, at times, water tasted milky, jelly sweets tasted salty and chocolate tasted like cardboard. I still ate it though!

Chemotherapy Airways safety card information regarding wigs, showing a 3-step sequence. The first is a seated bald passenger. The second shows the passenger reaching up towards a wig hanging from the ceiling by a flexible tube. In the third the passenger is wearing the wig.

Most people associate chemotherapy with hair loss. That's why, onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight, wigs will drop from above if needed. However, it's important to point out that not everyone goes bald. For example I chose to use a cold cap to try to save some of my hair.

I still lost quite a lot of it but what I did lose began to grow back before I'd even finished my treatment and soon returned, thick and strong.

I chose not to wear a wig to hide my thinning hair, and instead I wore beanies. There are plenty of options available. Just ask your flight attendant for whatever you might feel most comfortable in.

Chemotherapy Airways safety card illustration showing a passenger in yellow pyjamas holding a red toggle in their right hand, near their hip.

Chemotherapy Airways life pyjamas have toggles at the waist for adjusting them.

Fun fact: for the film, as I couldn't get hold of real life jacket toggles, I used red electricity meter box keys. I stitched two yellow ribbons to the life pyjamas and we stuck the ends of the ribbons into the meter keys using glue for skirting boards.

Chemotherapy Airways safety card instructions for the brace position. The illustration shows a loudspeaker announcing the instruction to brace. A bald passenger in yellow pyjamas lies on their front across a row of blue seats, their right arm hanging down to the floor.

Chemo flattened me. I would spend a lot of time on the sofa or in bed, particularly during the first week of my three-week chemo cycles.

That's why, onboard a Chemotherapy Airways flight, the brace position resembles being steamrollered.

By contrast, the days when I started to feel more like myself again were often quite joyful. We would always arrange something fun for the third week of a cycle when I was feeling my best.

For me, there were some really good times during chemo as well as the tougher days.

Chemotherapy Airways safety card illustration showing the plane with red arrows pointing to the location of the toilets at the front and the rear of the aircraft.

Our Chemotherapy Airways plane has toilets at the front and the rear. Some passengers need these more than usual. Others less.

Our flight attendants can provide a wide array of duty free medication that can help with this and almost any other issue passengers may encounter.