Today we send our best wishes to our Celebrity Supporter Dame Sheila Hancock as she celebrates her 90^th birthday.

Renowned actor and author, Dame Sheila has been a friend and supporter of Brain Tumour Research since the charity was launched in 2009, but her connection to brain tumours began 10 years beforehand when her grandson Jack was diagnosed at the age of four.

As Sheila herself explained in an interview in Woman & Home magazine: “I became involved with the cause 20 years ago, after my grandson Jack, then four years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was an agonising experience for the family; you feel so powerless and raising awareness was a way to stop the feelings of frustration. My daughter met Julie Phelan, whose daughter Alison was being cared for by the same nurse and her sister Sue (Farrington Smith, our Chief Executive) and introduced me to them. I’ve seen this group of individuals work so hard to raise funds for research and equipment, growing more and more confident and determined. I’m delighted and privileged to be a tiny part of it.”

We are grateful to Sheila for her work with us which has involved raising awareness and campaigning, including two years ago during March – Brain Tumour Awareness Month – when Sheila was interviewed on Sky News and commented about the need for increased investment to change outcomes for patients, saying: “On the ground we have to fight and make the Government realise how important it is to continue this research.”

Happy Birthday Sheila. Have a lovely day. And thank you!

Related Reading:

• Our Patrons and Celebrities
• Dame Sheila's grandson Jack was diagnosed with a brain tumour

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