A school reunion to bring together former classmates of a young mum who is now undergoing treatment for a brain tumour will raise money to help fund research into a cure for the disease.

Graduating classes of 1999, 2000 and 2001 are being invited back to Pensnett School of Technology in Dudley for the event on Friday 13^th July. And, as well as catching up for old time’s sake, they will be supporting the pioneering charity Brain Tumour Research which is funding vital work into improving treatments for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

Among those attending the event will be children’s author Katie Smith nee Yorke, aged 33, who was diagnosed with a grade two oligoastrocytoma brain tumour shortly after returning from honeymoon. Katie, who writes a blog called Babies, Books and Brain Tumours, lives in Stourbridge, underwent surgery in 2015 and again earlier this year after a recurrence of the growth. Her latest operation was followed by radiotherapy.

Katie, a former teacher, who has a one-year-old-son Eli with husband Luke, said: “I am very touched to think that the school reunion is going to be raising money for Brain Tumour Research inspired by me.

“I know that I’m most likely going to die of a brain tumour sometime in the next ten years and, although the research taking place now isn’t going to help me, it might help some kids in the future and I will feel proud on my death bed that I will have played a part in trying to help someone else’s child from such a cruel disease.”

Among those organising the reunion is Catherine Richards, of Kingswinford, who said: “We have more than 400 people already attending the event and, on top of that, we will be raising money for this great cause, inspired by one of our own.

“Our dear friend Katie, who graduated in 2001, has been plagued by this disease for a number of years and has shown great courage and strength.”

The Pensnett School of Technology reunion will take place at Brierley Hill Civic Hall, Brierley, from 7.30pm. Tickets available from the Civic Hall.

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.

You can make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Katie’s JustGiving page.

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 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 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.