A Derbyshire dad living with an inoperable brain tumour has inspired a relative to take on their first ever marathon.

Little Eaton resident Stewart Tranter is living with a grade 3 astrocytoma and faces an uncertain future. Stewart, 40, who lives with his wife Anna and their young son William, two, has endured extensive treatment including 30 cycles of radiotherapy and 14 months of chemotherapy since his diagnosis in 2013.

Now, Stewart’s cousin-in-law Sam Heaney is running the Manchester Marathon to help raises awareness of brain tumours – a disease which kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Motivated by his relative’s experience, Sam, 29, who lives in Hammersmith, hopes to raise £1,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity.

Sam, a project manager, originally from Derby, said: “I’m looking forward to the marathon as it will be a chance to get fit and achieve something I’ve never done before. More importantly, however, I will be fundraising and raising awareness for such a vital cause. Training is going well and I’m on track to complete 10-mile runs by the end of January. The generosity of my family and friends has spurred me on and I was very thankful to have received an anonymous £50 donation.

“With each step of the Manchester Marathon, I will be thinking of Stewart. He is an integral part of our family and a loving dad to William. His diagnosis came as such a shock to us all.”

Stewart added: “It's amazing that Sam is taking part in such an iconic event to help give hope to myself and other brain tumour patients that, through research, effective treatments may be found.”

Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.

Sam will join around 16,000 runners at the Asics Manchester Marathon, a 26.2-mile route which starts and finishes in Old Trafford, on 7 April 2019.

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated 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 for Brain Tumour Research in the Midlands, said: “We wish Sam good luck for his marathon and thank him for supporting us. Stewart’s story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate and they can affect anyone at any age, and we would like to encourage anyone who has been touched by his story to make a donation.”

To sponsor Sam, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sam-in-manc

For further information, please contact:

Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 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 ground-breaking research 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 represented on the Steering Group 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.