A businessman and father-of-two who died from a brain tumour has been remembered at a research centre where scientists are focused on finding a cure for the disease.

Gary Phillips, from Benfleet, Essex, was 44 when he died in January. Following his diagnosis and together with family and friends, he started fundraising for pioneering immunotherapy which was not available through the NHS. The money has been donated to national charity Brain Tumour Research as Gary sadly died before he could undergo treatment.

Gary’s parents Dave and Dianne Phillips and other close relatives travelled to London on Wednesday (11^th October) to place a tile on the Wall of Hope at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London where scientists are focused on improving treatments and patients and, ultimately, finding a cure for brain tumours. Each tile represents the £2,740 it costs to fund a day of research.

Dave said: “We were fundraising in the hope that Gary would be treated but, sadly, this was not the case. It is comforting to think that now the money will be used to fund research into this dreadful disease. It is too late for us but we hope it will help others.”

Gary, who left two children, Alex, 19, and Leah, 17, ran air conditioning company Phillips Refrigeration which was based in Clarence Close, Benfleet. He was born in Pitsea where he attended St Margaret’s Primary School before moving to Benfleet where he was a student at King John School.

The family was given a tour of the lab where scientists, led by Professor Silvia Marino, are researching the causes of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and common type of brain tumour.

Carol Robertson, Head of Community Fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are extremely grateful to Gary’s family for their support. Sadly they are not alone as 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.”

Brain Tumour Research is campaigning to increase the national spend on research into cancer from £30million per year – just one per cent of the national budget for cancer research – to £35million.

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research go to https://www.braintumourresearch.org/donation/donate-now

For further information, please contact:
Susan Castle-Smith at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867206 or 07887 241639 or Susan@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.