A man living with a brain tumour has signed up to help break the world record for the largest electric guitar ensemble, all in aid of the Brain Tumour Research charity.

Sean Crossey, who lives with his wife in High Wycombe, will take part in The Great Guitar Challenge on Sunday 22^nd July, at Ealing Blues Festival. He will join event organiser Dave Pile, who is hoping to achieve the world record by recruiting 450 guitarists to play ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie.

Sean, a 29-year-old software engineer, was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma – an aggressive type of brain tumour – after suffering from mild seizures and severe headaches in August 2016. He had two rounds of brain surgery, along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove the tumour, which returned in February 2018. Having had an awake craniotomy, Sean is now on another course of chemotherapy to try and control any further growth.

Sean said: “As a keen guitarist, I am privileged to take part in The Great Guitar Challenge. My friend told me about the event and I knew immediately I had to take part – it’s such a fun challenge and for a cause close to my heart. When I was diagnosed, I was shocked to discover that just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.”

Also joining Sean at the challenge will be Scott Fuller, lead singer of tribute band The Thin White Duke, who will accompany the ensemble on vocals. The event is being supported by sponsors Blackstar amplification, who will provide a new Blackstar Fly 3 micro amp for all participants.

Michael Thelwall, Head of Community Fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Dave’s world record attempt in aid of the Brain Tumour Research charity is going to be spectacular and I hope it will raise awareness of how underfunded research into the disease is. We are very grateful to Sean for taking part and wish him, and everyone else involved, the best of luck for the world record attempt.”

Guitarists can register for the event via Eventbrite; the ticket price includes a donation to Brain Tumour Research and entitles participants to a new Blackstar Fly 3 micro amp, a t-shirt to mark the event and a free day’s entry to the Ealing Blues Festival.

For more information, visit www.greatguitarchallenge.com

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 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
• 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.