A teenager who says her beloved pony helped her recover from a brain tumour is organising a charity event to raise funds for scientists working to find a cure for the disease.

Lily Hawkins, aged 14, is encouraging riders and their charges to get involved in Wear A Hat Day which, this year, takes place on Thursday 29^th March across the UK.

At the age of six, Lily was diagnosed with a brain tumour after suffering headaches, problems with her balance, and vomiting. She underwent two operations to remove a grade one pilocytic astrocytoma and continues to have MRI scans to monitor the remaining one per cent of the tumour which could not be removed.

Now studying for her GCSEs at The Buckingham School, Lily is organising her horsey Wear A Hat Day event at a livery stables in Akeley Wood run by her grandmother Val. There will be mounted and non-mounted games, lots of hats on both horses and riders, plus a raffle.

Lily said: “My pony Jester means the world to me. He helped me get my balance back after my surgery and he gave me the confidence to help me walk again properly.

“Before he came to my grandmother’s stables, Jester had had a difficult time and there were problems with his behaviour. We’ve been there for each other through such a lot and now have a very special bond. We have spent so much time together that he instinctively knows when my head hurts and will come up to me for a quiet cuddle. I don’t know what I would do without him and, in a way, I feel we have saved each other.”

Wear A Hat Day has raised over a million pounds since it was launched by the charity Brain Tumour Research nine years ago and is the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month in March. The big day will see schools, workplaces, families and individuals across the UK fundraising and taking part in fun events to raise awareness of brain tumours and help fund life-saving research.

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. Funds raised through Wear A Hat Day 2018 will develop the charity’s network of world-class brain tumour research centres in the UK.

Sue Farrington Smith, the Chief Executive of Brain Tumour Research who lives in Padbury, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone, at any age. We are extremely grateful to Lily for getting involved and hope people will support her and be inspired to hold their own events. It’s as easy as wearing a hat and making a donation!”

To get involved, or donate, please visit: www.wearahatday.org or text HAT to 70660 to donate £5*

#HATTASTIC

* Texts cost £5 plus network charge. Brain Tumour Research receives 100% of your donation. Obtain the bill payer’s permission. Call 01908 867200 with any queries.

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 January 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.