A father took his son’s campaigning legacy to Downing Street this week. 

Paramedic Gary Pullan and his wife, Claire, were invited to a Downing Street reception for local NHS Champions, hosted by Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, on Tuesday (4^th July). During the event, they used the opportunity to draw Mr Barclay’s attention to our petition calling for increased national investment in brain tumour research. 

It was a continuation of the campaigning Gary’s 18-year-old son, Matthew, had passionately pursued until he passed away from a brain tumour on 9^th September 2021. 

Gary said: “Matthew was proud to support Brain Tumour Research, alongside his brother, Alex. He was extremely focused in everything he did; blogging about his cancer journey, engaging with politicians and helping to build a social media community for other people affected by this hideous disease. 

“We are so proud of all Matthew achieved and vow to continue supporting Brain Tumour Research in his honour. Matthew’s motto was: ‘life is terminal – it is our job to live it’. I, for one, will try my very best to embody this amazing positivity, in memory of my beloved son.” 

Before his death, Matthew raised our cause with previous health secretaries, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid. Gary said he felt “honoured and excited” to be invited to Downing Street and have the opportunity to “reiterate Matthew’s message” to Mr Barclay. 

He added: “I’ve signed the petition and encourage others to because money is so important; without it, there is no research. The Government needs to invest much more into brain tumours because so much is still unknown about them. It is so frustrating; if there are other treatments, they should be on the NHS. Something must be done to improve the situation.” 

Help us reach our goal of 100,000 signatures in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate. Sign now: www.braintumourresearch.org/petition  

Related reading: 

• Matthew’s story
• Twin brothers’ fundraising reaches £11,000 after appearance on ITV