The good sports of Darlington Golf Club are helping to drive a cure for brain tumours through a year of fundraising activity.

Members are supporting the Brain Tumour Research charity following the death of Paul Richardson, husband of the club’s Lady Captain Jill Richardson. Events will be held throughout the year in his memory, including a fashion show, sponsored skydive and a hat-themed competition in support of the charity’s annual Wear A Hat Day event.

After 27 years working at the Durham Constabulary, Paul Richardson was looking forward to retirement when he began to feel tired and confused. The 45-year-old was believed to have chronic fatigue but when he deteriorated further, he was sent to Darlington Memorial Hospital for further tests. A CT scan identified that Paul had a brain tumour, the same disease which killed his dad 13 years previously. Paul was sent to The James Cook University Hospital for a biopsy which revealed he had an inoperable anaplastic astrocytoma.  Paul died in January 2005, just five weeks later and before he could begin treatment, leaving Jill, their children Helen and Mark, and granddaughter Megan.

Jill said: “I’m delighted to announce Brain Tumour Research as my charity of the year. Funding research into brain tumours is a cause close to my heart so I’m looking forward to supporting the charity over the next 12 months.

“Losing my husband to the disease opened my eyes to how devastating brain tumours really are. I was shocked to learn that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, historically, only 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. I hope our year of fundraising and raising awareness can help put an end to this.”

Matthew Price, community fundraising manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re honoured to be one of Darlington Golf Club’s charities of the year and look forward to all the exciting activities and events in the pipeline.

“We’d like to thank Jill for her support and for sharing Paul’s story which sadly isn’t uncommon. Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research Centres of Excellence in the UK; it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

For further information, please contact:
Farel James at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 or Farel.James@braintumourresearch.org

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours, and we are a leading voice calling for greater support and action for research into what scientists are calling the last battleground against cancer.

We are building a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence whilst influencing the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more nationally.

We welcome recent funding announcements for research into brain tumours from the UK Government and Cancer Research UK – £65 million pledged over the next five years. However, this potential funding of £13 million a year comes with a catch – money will only be granted to quality research proposals and, due to the historic lack of investment, there may not be enough of these applications that qualify for grants from this pot.

We want research funding parity with breast cancer and leukaemia. We are calling for a £30-35 million investment every year for research into brain tumours in order to fund the basic research groundwork needed to accelerate the translation from laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and fast-track new therapies for this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is a powerful campaigning organisation and represents the voice of the brain tumour community across the UK. We helped establish and provide the ongoing Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours (APPGBT). We are supporting the crucial APPGBT 2018 Inquiry into the economic and social impacts of brain tumours and will publish their report in the autumn. We are also a key influencer in the development strategy for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. 

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours
• In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website. We can also provide case studies and research expertise for the media.