Two sisters who lost their dad to a brain tumour are taking part in a walking challenge in the hope their little steps will add up to a big improvement in survival rates for patients with the disease.

Charlie, aged eight, and Jessica, five, will be walking 5K – that’s three miles – to raise money for the pioneering charity Brain Tumour Research. They have set themselves an ambitious target of getting £10 each to help scientists find a cure for brain tumours like the one which claimed their dad, Dave Leatherbarrow. The girls were just five and two when Dave died. Previously fit and healthy, he was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour and passed away in January 2015 at the age of 34.

Now the girls are stepping up to honour his memory and are among the first to sign up for the charity’s Big Little Walk which is inviting people – big and small – to take a step in the right direction to help improve outcomes for patients with brain tumours. The charity funds a network of Centres of Excellence where scientists are focused on developing new treatments and, ultimately, finding a cure.

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.

Along with mum Diane, the girls are planning to take on their Big Little Walk Challenge during the May half term holiday.

Andrea Pankiw, Community Fundraising Manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “I was so touched to see the girls are taking part in this challenge and I hope people will really get behind them to offer their support. The funds raised will help us in our mission to build a network of experts in sustainable research. Stories like Dave’s remind us all that we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue.”

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.

To make a donation to the children’s Big Little Walk or to take part go to https://biglittlewalkofhope.everydayhero.com/uk/the-little-leatherbarrow-walk

#BigLittleWalk

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.