Two women whose friendship was forged by bereavement enjoyed a "brilliant" fundraising day for Brain Tumour Research's On Yer Bike event, raising hundreds of pounds towards the fight to find a cure for the disease which killed their husbands.

Cathy Pratt, 59, from Horsforth, Leeds, and Maria Browne, 52, from Eccleshill, Bradford, were joined by 14 jelly-legged fundraisers; some of whom cycled for seven hours continuously. Thanks to an amazing team effort, they hope to exceed their £2,740 target.

Cathy and her husband Andrew had been married for 14 years when she lost him to a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a highly aggressive type of brain tumour. He passed away in March 2005 at the age of 41, leaving behind Cathy and three children.

She shares a tragic bond with Maria whose husband Michael sadly passed away in February 2007 from an oligoastrocytoma which he had fought bravely for 20 years. The pair’s deep friendship has grown over the years after they met at a support group for people bereaved by brain tumours.

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.

It costs £2,740 to fund a day of research at one of Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence, where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

The event on Saturday 3^rd February – incidentally Cathy’s birthday – served as a fitting tribute to both men and she is full of praise for her supporters and hosts Workhouse Fitness, based in Farsley, Leeds. “The gym couldn’t do enough for us and a friend even surprised me with a birthday cake, which was the icing on a great day.”

Carol Robertson, Head of Community Fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, said: "We challenged people to step up and ride for research, and Cathy and Maria did just that. They had a great response and fantastic support from family, friends and Workhouse Fitness."

“We would like thank everyone who saddled-up for On Yer Bike and for raising essential funds and awareness. Eventually, we will conquer this devastating disease.”

If you would like to contribute to Cathy and Maria’s JustGiving page go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/catherine-pratt1

Brain Tumour Research’s next event is Wear A Hat Day on 29th March. For more information go to: wearahatday.org     

For further information, please contact:
Lexie Jenkins at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867222 or 07591 206545 or Lexie.Jenkins@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.