A woman from Aberdeen is dedicating a 100-mile cycle challenge to her father who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Aimee Clark, 33, is taking part in the annual Prudential RideLondon to raise funds for the Brain Tumour Research charity after seeing her dad, Ronald Clark, suffer from the disease. 

After retiring as a civil servant for the RAF in Lossiemouth, where he worked for 20 years, Ronald was visiting family in Australia in October 2017 when he was struck down with severe facial pain. Ronald had experienced the pain five years previously and been diagnosed with neuralgia but this time, the pain coincided with losing his balance and struggling to walk. An urgent MRI scan in Perth revealed he had a low-grade acoustic neuroma. The 65-year-old returned home immediately to Elgin, in Moray, and within six weeks he underwent surgery at Aberdeen Hospital. Surgeons successfully removed 90% of the tumour but Ronald has now lost his hearing in one ear and will have to go for regular scans.

Aimee, who works for Nuffield Health as a physiotherapist, said: “I’m so relieved my Dad has beaten the odds and recovered this quickly, however I’m aware that for the majority of people diagnosed with this disease, the outcome is rarely this positive. 

“It’s important to me to keep spreading the news about this awful disease. I was shocked to learn that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer and yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to this devastating disease. My mission is to complete RideLondon and raise vital funds for research and also to inspire others to fundraise too.”

Aiming to raise at least £500 for the charity, Aimee is among 24 cyclists supporting the charity by taking part in Prudential RideLondon, described as “the world’s greatest festival of cycling.” Some 25,000 amateurs are expected for the RideLondon-Surrey 100-mile sportive which will set off from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London on Sunday 29th July before heading through the capital and out into the Surrey countryside and returning to the finish on The Mall.  

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer but just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. The charity is striving to fund a network of seven dedicated research centres whilst challenging the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research.

Joe Woollcott, Community Fundraising Manager for the Brain Tumour Research charity, said: “We are extremely grateful to Aimee for her support and wish her all the best for the race. For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer and we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue.” 

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Aimee’s JustGiving page, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aimee-clark13 


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