Famous names including Debbie McGee, Sarah Beeny and Dr Dawn Harper will be guests of John Bercow MP at an exclusive House of Commons event on Wednesday 15th March, during Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

John Bercow, long-standing patron of the charity Brain Tumour Research is opening the State Rooms of Speaker’s House to patients, families, scientists, clinicians and supporters as they campaign for change. They will be urging MPs to reverse the decades of underfunding for research and significantly improve treatments for the 60,000 (according to brainstrust) people living with a brain tumour in the UK. 

Brain tumours 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.

Iconic magician Paul Daniels died from a brain tumour one year ago, in March 2016. Debbie, who first met Paul back in 1979, said: “Paul died four weeks and five days after the diagnosis. I still miss him every day.”

Property expert and TV presenter Sarah Beeny lost her mother at the age of ten, only to lose her stepmother to the same disease 30 years later. Sarah said: “More research is needed so fewer lives will be devastated by this dreadful disease. I want to see a day when cancer is no longer life-threatening, when the notion that cancer could be a killer is thought absurd.”

Dr Dawn Harper, GP and TV presenter, added: “Too many children have lost parents prematurely and parents should never have to lose their children to this devastating form of cancer. We must act to improve outcomes for patients and increase funding into brain tumour research.”

The charity is celebrating a year of high-profile campaigning on this issue following the unprecedented success of its petition in 2016. Following that, Brain Tumour Research is now part of the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research.

Sue Farrington Smith MBE, chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, praised the dedication of the charity’s supporters, concluding: "Many families continue to be torn apart watching their loved ones die of a brain tumour. It doesn’t have to be this way. We have all seen how research investment into other forms of cancer has resulted in improved patient outcomes over recent decades. It is crucial that we significantly increase the investment in brain tumour research and offer hope for patients and their families.”


To get involved, or donate, please visit: www.braintumourresearch.org

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:
Caroline Marrows at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07714 743764 or caroline@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 are building a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, £5.5 million was raised towards research and support during 2016.

 

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 charity is celebrating a year of high-profile campaigning on this issue following the unprecedented success of its petition in 2016. Following that, Brain Tumour Research is now taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research.

 

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
• 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.