A woman whose brother died of a brain tumour is embarking on a charity skydive to raise money to help fund vital research.

Sara Wiegand, a 49-year-old school healthcare assistant at the Buckinghamshire School Nursing Service, will take part in the skydive in Hinton, Brackley, with her husband, Jon Wiegand. Sara aims to raise £1,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity in memory of her brother, Mark Smith.

Sara, who lives in Drayton Parslow, near Milton Keynes, said: “The skydive will be part of my 50^th birthday celebrations and I’m feeling excited to complete the challenge. Sadly, Mark died just shy of his 50^th birthday, which gives me further motivation to raise money for this important cause.”

Mark, an accountant who lived in Sussex, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour after suffering a seizure. He had radiotherapy and chemotherapy but sadly died aged 49, two years after his diagnosis in March 2016. He left behind his wife Karen and twins Katie and Matthew, who turned eight the day after losing their dad.

Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, they 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.

Michael Thelwall, Head of Community Fundraising for the Brain Tumour Research charity, said: “For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer and we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue. We are extremely grateful to Sara for her support and wish her luck in completing her skydive.”

Make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Sara’s JustGiving page.

 

For further information, please contact:
Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research 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 focused on funding sustainable research to find a cure for brain tumours. We have established a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, over £6 million was raised towards research and support during 2017.

We are campaigning to see the national spend on research into brain tumours increased to £30 - £35 million a year, in line with breast cancer and leukaemia. The unprecedented success of our 2015 petition led to the 2016 Westminster Hall debate and Brain Tumour Research taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research with the report being published in 2018.

Key statistics on brain tumours:

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

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