Members of Frinton Golf Club have come together to raise vital funds for research into, and awareness for, the disease that killed the captain’s daughter.

Following his daughter Sally’s brain tumour diagnosis and subsequent death in 2008, David Joshua, captain of Frinton Golf Club, chose pioneering charity Brain Tumour Research as the club’s charity of the year. David has now presented the charity with a cheque for £1,727 in Sally’s honour.

Sally Joshua was 42 when she was first diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumour in autumn 2004. The mum-of-two, who worked for Bank of America, was taken into hospital following a bad fall and a series of severe headaches, and surgeons immediately operated on the tumour. Despite a successful operation, Sally suffered from a stroke the following night leaving her temporarily unable to recognise her family. Sally, who lived in Horley, Surrey, overcame the consequences of the stroke and went on to live for another four years in relatively good health. However, in November 2008, Sally died suddenly died at home.

David, who has been captain of Frinton Golf Club since March 2017, said: “I’m so grateful to everyone at the club for getting behind me and supporting Brain Tumour Research as my charity of the year. I’m delighted that we’ve raised so much for such an important cause.

“Sally’s death was such a horrible shock. She was doing so well for four years but then all of a sudden, she passed when her husband Rafe was out on the school run. It was a really hard time for all of us, but we just had to carry on and be strong for the kids. Amy and Miles were only nine and five at the time so it was especially difficult for them to come to terms with the death of their mum. Ten years have passed now and I want to do whatever I can to help find a cure for the disease.”

From March 2017 through to March 2018, Members of the club helped to fundraise through sponsored matches, barbecues, race nights and activities during the club’s annual Golf Week.

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.

Michael Thelwall, Head of Community Fundraising, said: “It’s been a pleasure meeting David and the rest of the members here at Frinton Golf Club. We’re extremely grateful for their donation and we appreciate David’s efforts to raise awareness of the lack of funding for research into brain tumours.”

The money raised will go to the pioneering charity Brain Tumour Research, which funds a network of dedicated Centres of Excellence where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

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.