Now more than ever before we are getting closer to parity of funding for research into brain tumours.

Since our launch in April 2009 we have campaigned tirelessly for greater funds, challenging the government and larger cancer charities to increase funding into brain tumour research. At the same time we have striven to increase our own capability by raising awareness and building an army of supporters to help us fundraise to support UK brain tumour research.

Funding for research into brain tumours is now gathering momentum and we had our best fundraising year ever in 2015. With over £4m raised by us and our member charities towards research, raising awareness and providing support and information.

We are delighted that Cancer Research UK has at last identified brain tumours as one of their strategic priorities and Children with Cancer are allocating £5m over the next three years including research at our centre at the University of Portsmouth.

But we mustn’t be complacent.

In March 2015 we launched our Manifesto calling on the Government and larger cancer charities to increase the national spend on brain tumour research to £30 – £35m a year in line with other cancers. Then in July 2015 we were approached by Maria Lester (née Realf) to help her launch an e-petition with our manifesto ask – we seized the opportunity!

The e-petition is still open for signatures and as I write this, over 40,000 of you have signed. Thank you so much. We need this to get to over 100,000 signatures by the end of January 2016, if we are to encourage a debate in the House of Commons. I urge you to engage all of your family, friends, organisations and supporters to get behind this and sign it. The brain tumour community needs to get behind our cause as together we will find a cure. Follow this link to sign the petition now and please share with your networks and contacts: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105560/signatures/new

In September 2015 we launched our fourth Centre of Excellence at Imperial College, adding to our centres at Plymouth University, University of Portsmouth and Queen Mary University of London which are going from strength to strength and continue to gain praise and respect from the cancer research community worldwide. We are now over half way to achieving our aim of establishing seven centres of excellence.

This is all very exciting but our path to funding a cure is a continuing journey and we must, once again, all redouble our efforts.

Brain Tumour Research relies on you, your organisations and the general public to donate to the cause of brain tumour research. We have come far and we need you to pledge to double the support you have given us over the years so that we can support our existing centres and reach our ultimate goal of seven centres in the UK.

It’s a complicated landscape and here at Brain Tumour Research we remain true to our strategy to provide continuous and sustainable research into brain tumours. With secure long term funding covering key salaried positions, the centres we support are freed from the limitations and frustrations of applying for one specific project grant after another in order to secure opportunities. Promising researchers are therefore able to be trained up through the ranks and fulfil their potential, rather than being tempted into other cancer research which currently attracts greater funding.

Brain Tumour Awareness month will soon be upon us in March and our national Wear A Hat Day (24/03/16) is a great opportunity to get your place of work, your club and your schools involved. We also have a great choice of running and other challenge events and of course you can get involved in Host for Hope in the summer months or throughout the year and host a gathering whether it be a coffee morning, BBQ, afternoon tea, dinner party or something else, raising money through tickets and raffles. You could also take up our Conquer it Together challenge and ask for sponsorship to do something physical, do something silly or face a fear.

We need you to help us raise money to fund seven centres of excellence, to ensure that the causes of brain tumours are identified, to ensure that every aspect of brain tumours is understood, to ensure that all 120+ types of brain tumour are being researched, to ensure that treatments that will improve outcomes are discovered and to ensure that a cure for brain tumours will be found.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer… yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

This is unacceptable!

We are striving to fund a network of seven dedicated research centres whilst challenging the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research.

Help us fund the fight. Together we will find a cure.

Wishing you all a good 2016, with love thanks and thoughts from the Brain Tumour Research team.