Six-year-old Leah Martin is calling on kids to join her in a superhero fun run to help find a cure for brain tumours.

The event takes place at Torbay Velopark in Paignton on Saturday 9^th June and is raising money for Leah’s Fairy Fund which is working with the national charity Brain Tumour Research.

Leah Martin, who lives in Haytor Avenue, Paignton and attends Roselands Primary School with her sister Jasmine, aged 10, was diagnosed with a high-grade medulloblastoma brain tumour at the age of two and underwent several operations, as well as gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. She undergoes MRI scans every six months to check that the tumour has not started to regrow.

Mum, Joanne Martin, 48, recalls: “Leah was lagging behind when it came to developmental milestones in her speech and mobility when compared with Jasmine. Doctors found a ‘mass’ in the back of her head when she had an MRI scan and then surgery brought the even more devastating news that Leah had an aggressive brain tumour. She had lengthy hospital treatment and has been left with lasting effects. Added to this, Leah isn’t growing as she should and is having daily growth hormone injections, which will continue for quite a few years.”

Since Leah was diagnosed, Joanne and her husband Wayne discovered that 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. They have set up a fundraising group called Leah’s Fairy Fund under the umbrella of pioneering national charity, Brain Tumour Research and have raised close to £12,000 to date, having held a number of fundraising events including haircuts, body wax and shaves, as well as supporters taking part in Wear A Hat Day for brain tumour events, an abseil and running in the London Marathon and the Torbay half marathon.

Of the forthcoming Superhero Fun Run, Joanne explained: “We are asking children to sign up by 1^st June with a target of raising £2,740, equivalent to the cost of one day of research at one of Brain Tumour Research’s four Centres of Excellence. If this sum is achieved, Leah’s Fairy Fund will be able to place a tile on the Wall of Hope within the Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth for everyone to see.

“Participants can dress up as their favourite superhero if they wish, and during a half-hour period they can do as many laps as they wish – one lap is 0.5km. There will be a warm up at 11.45am, with the run itself starting at 12pm. The cost to take part is £4 per child, with children under the age of three going free. There is no minimum sponsorship target.

“We are very excited about the event and very grateful to these local businesses whose sponsorship is covering all our outlay, allowing everything raised to go directly to Brain Tumour Research: Beverly Holiday Park, which is providing its entertainment team for the warm up and the Rapid Relief Team who will be offering guests teas, coffees, water, burgers, hot dogs and fruit after the run, as well as DD’s Cupcakes, the Electric Centre and Spirent.” 

Emma Cronin, Community Fundraising Manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age, at any time. Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.

“We are extremely grateful to Leah’s Fairy Fund for their continued fundraising and wish them all the best for another successful event. We hope as many children as possible will take part in Leah’s Superhero Fun Run, and that people will sponsor them for this worthy cause or consider holding their own events, helping to spread the word about this terrible disease.” 

The money raised will go to 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.

To sign up please go to www.leahs-superhero-fun-run.eventbrite.co.uk

To donate go to www.justgiving.com/Leahs-superheros

For further information, please contact:
Liz Fussey at Brain Tumour Research on 07811 068357 or liz@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 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.