A husband and two sons were part of a team which cycled 111 miles, in memory of a dance teacher lost to a brain tumour.

More than 20 friends and relatives of Corrine Smith (née Ferraby) set off from Quorn, Loughborough, to make their way to Wells-next-the-Sea.

Corrine, from Leicester, was an accomplished dance teacher at Rawlins Academy and had been enjoying a blissful retirement when she suffered a bleed on the brain and was diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain tumour. She died in June 2018 just a year after her diagnosis, aged 61, leaving her devasted husband Kelvin Smith and her two sons James and Sam Ferraby, 32 and 26.

James and Sam joined their step-dad Kelvin and Corrine’s close friends at the cycle, which took place in brisk and icy conditions. Having raised £4,600 for the Brain Tumour Research charity, the group treated themselves to a well-deserved pint at The Golden Fleece as they arrived in Wells-next-the-sea, where Corrine and her family had enjoyed many a summer holiday.

James said: “While I enjoy cycling, I have never taken on such an ambitious ride and it was undoubtedly a tough challenge, and we even suffered a few crashes and punctures along the way, but something that has given my family and I a great deal of purpose. It was fitting that we finished the ride in Wells-next-the-sea – a place that Mum had been visiting since she was a child.

“Mum was an exceptionally talented dancer and a force for good, who made a huge impact on the lives of her colleagues and the pupils she worked with. Mum maintained her positive spirit throughout her illness – her laughter was infectious. We miss her terribly."

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

Carrie Bater, Community Fundraising Manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support of James, Sam, Kelvin and the team and congratulate them in completing the event. Corrine’s story reminds us that less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers. We cannot allow this situation to continue.”

To sponsor the team, please go to https://bit.ly/2Ap5HkE

For further information, please contact:
Annie Slinn at the Brain Tumour Research charity on 01908 867239 or 07591 206545 or annie.slinn@braintumourresearch.org.

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours, and we are a leading voice calling for greater support and action for research into what scientists are calling the last battleground against cancer.

We are building a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence whilst influencing the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more nationally.

We welcome recent funding announcements for research into brain tumours from the UK Government and Cancer Research UK – £65 million pledged over the next five years. However, this potential funding of £13 million a year comes with a catch – money will only be granted to quality research proposals and, due to the historic lack of investment, there may not be enough of these applications that qualify for grants from this pot.

We want research funding parity with breast cancer and leukaemia. We are calling for a £30-35 million investment every year for research into brain tumours in order to fund the basic research groundwork needed to accelerate the translation from laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and fast-track new therapies for this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is a powerful campaigning organisation and represents the voice of the brain tumour community across the UK. We helped establish and provide the ongoing Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours (APPGBT). We are supporting the crucial APPGBT 2018 Inquiry into the economic and social impacts of brain tumours and will publish their report in the autumn. We are also a key influencer in the development strategy for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. 

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Historically, 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours
• In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website. We can also provide case studies and research expertise for the media.