A brain tumour patient from Sheffield has completed the Birmingham Half Marathon, one year on from losing his dad to the same disease.

Jamie Manton took part in the 13.1 mile running event as part of a series of fundraising challenges for the Brain Tumour Research charity. The Sheffield student was inspired by the sudden death of his dad, Stephen Manton, and his own brain tumour diagnosis in 2017.

Diagnosed with a low-grade meningioma at the age of 25, Jamie took time out from his nursing degree at Sheffield Hallam University whilst waiting for a surgery date. During this time, Stephen began suffering from the same numbness that Jamie had experienced before his diagnosis.

Stephen, a civil servant from Sheffield, was sent for an MRI scan and when the results came back unclear, he underwent a biopsy at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. A high-grade glioma was found in his brain but before he could hear the results, the 64-year-old suffered from a post-operative brain haemorrhage and died five days later. Within a week, Jamie returned to Royal Hallamshire for surgeons to operate on his own brain tumour.

One year on from this tragic turn of events, Jamie has crossed the finish line at the Birmingham Half Marathon to fundraise for research into brain tumours. He said: “I’m so pleased to have completed the half marathon. My family’s lives were shattered when Dad died and my own future was uncertain too. A year on, I’m just grateful to be able to run and I want to raise as a much as I can towards fighting this devastating disease.”

Matthew Price, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We congratulate Jamie for completing the Birmingham Half Marathon and wish him all the best for his next event in 2019.

“Jamie is a remarkable young man and we are extremely grateful for his support. His family’s story is devastating and it reminds us all that brain tumours are indiscriminate, they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. We cannot allow this situation to continue.”

Jamie’s next challenge will be the Sheffield Half Marathon in April 2019. Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research 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 £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To sponsor Jamie, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jamie-Manton4

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 basic research groundwork 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). We are supporting the crucial APPGBT 2018 Inquiry into the economic and social impacts of brain tumours and will publish their report in the autumn. We are also a key influencer 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.