The national charity Brain Tumour Research hosted a successful workshop for its Member Charities in Milton Keynes.

Representatives from 22 brain tumour charities across the UK were invited to Kent’s Hill Park conference centre on 13^th and 14^th May to update each other with news and to share fundraising tips and ideas with each other.

Also attending were scientists from each of Brain Tumour Research’s Centres of Excellence within Imperial College, London, Queen Mary University of London, and both the University of Plymouth and of Portsmouth, who gave fascinating and informative presentations about the research they are conducting. There was also a talk about the work of BRAIN UK, based in Southampton and funded by Shenley Wood-based Brain Tumour Research and its Member Charity brainstrust, in bringing together a virtual tissue bank, a vital resource for researchers.

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.

Sue Farrington Smith, Chief Executive of Brain Tumour Research, said: “It’s always great to get together with our Member Charities. The timing of this year’s workshop was especially poignant as it coincided with the news of the death of Dame Tessa Jowell from a brain tumour, resulting in the Government promising to double its investment into brain cancer research. Our thoughts are with Tessa’s family at this sad time. We are spurred on with even greater vigour in our quest to find a cure for brain tumours.” 

For further information, please contact:
Liz Fussey at Brain Tumour Research on 07811 068357 or liz@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
• 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.