A managing director of a global investment banking company has raised more than £11,000 towards a brain tumour cure by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Twickenham resident, Rolf Zartner, saw in the New Year on the world’s tallest freestanding mountain as part of a personal mission to raise vital funds for the Brain Tumour Research charity. Rolf, who works at Deutsche Bank in London, battled 60mph winds and sub-zero temperatures to reach the summit in the early hours of January 4 2019.

The 45-year-old said: “It was an unforgettable experience and the hardest thing I have ever done. There was a storm on summit night and it was -20C which made it quite challenging but I’m thrilled to have made it.”

Rolf’s challenge came following the loss of four friends to brain tumours. The disease is indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

He added: “I found out the hard way that brain tumours are indiscriminate; four of my friends have died from the disease and they were fit and healthy, and a similar age to me when they were diagnosed. Learning that research into brain tumours is so underfunded spurred me on to raise money and, although climbing Kilimanjaro was incredibly tough, it was worth it. I hope to raise more in the coming weeks and help make a difference for patients.”

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.

Janice Wright, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research in London, said: “Well done to Rolf for this amazing achievement. We are extremely grateful for his fundraising and hope he will inspire others to support research into brain tumours. For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer and we cannot allow this situation to continue.”

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Rolf’s JustGiving page, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Rolf-Zartner

For further information, please contact:
Farel James at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 or Farel.James@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 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.