A Blackburn charity is continuing its support of research at UCLan into the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40 by sponsoring a researcher for the next three years.

Inbetweenears, a member charity of the national Brain Tumour Research charity, was set up by Jay Lynchehaun of Clitheroe after he was diagnosed seven years ago, aged 25, with an aggressive glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour. As well as funding research, the charity offers support to brain tumour patients and their families.

On 17 December, Jay’s mother, Sharon Hacking, who now runs the charity, was at UCLan to meet the PhD student Inbetweenears will be sponsoring. Klaudia Rzepecka, 21, will be working with Dr Jane Alder to research ways of improving drug delivery across the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) for brain cancer treatments.

Klaudia, who was awarded a first-class honours for her degree in BSc in Biomedical Sciences at UCLan, will also be investigating how cells communicate with each other within the BBB and the brain tumour.

An avid rugby player for UCLan and Preston Grasshoppers Ladies Team, Klaudia said: “I am extremely excited about working with Inbetweenears – the support the charity is giving us will help us to research innovative ways to get new drugs into the brain to treat brain tumour patients. This is a great opportunity for me as I am keen to develop a career in brain cancer research.” 

Sharon said: “We are very lucky that seven years on from his diagnosis, Jay is still going strong. His survival prognosis with a GBM was originally given as between 12 to 18 months. The reality is that less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years, compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.

 “I dearly hope that Klaudia’s research will help lead to a greater understanding of effective ways of treating patients.” 

Sue Farrington Smith, chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, said: “With historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research allocated to brain tumours, I am delighted that our member charity, Inbetweenears, is continuing its sponsorship of research into this devastating disease. We desperately need to bring about better outcomes for patients – from improved awareness for earlier diagnosis, to the development of more effective, personalised treatments and targeted drugs.”

To donate to Inbetweenears go to www.inbetweenears.co.uk/donate 
For more information about Brain Tumour Research go to www.braintumourresearch.org 


-ENDS-


For further information, please contact:
Liz Fussey at Brain Tumour Research on 07811 068357 or Liz@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) which published its report Brain Tumours A cost too much to bear? in 2018. Led by the charity, the report examines the economic and social impacts of a brain tumour diagnosis. We are also a key player 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, just 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.