London accountant completes cycle challenge in memory of a friend who passed away from a brain tumour, helping raise vital funds to find a cure for the disease. 

Michael Botting, 32 from Beckenham in London, was inspired to compete in the gruelling 100-mile ride following the death of his friend Tom Hill earlier this year. Tom was only 31 years old and passed away from a brain tumour just three months after getting married.

Raising nearly £2,000 for charity Brain Tumour Research, Michael was among 24 cyclists supporting the charity in Prudential RideLondon, described as “the world’s greatest festival of cycling.” Over 25,000 riders turned out for the RideLondon-Surrey 100 mile sportive which set off from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London on Sunday 30^th July before heading through the capital and out into the Surrey countryside, then returning to the finish on The Mall.  

Michael said: “Tom was great guy and we even shared the same birthday. It’s awful to think of how he was in the prime of his life and was taken away before he could fully enjoy married life and being a dad. I feel privileged that I got to ride in his memory and hope my efforts will help raise awareness of this terrible disease. It’s a sad fact that brain tumours can affect anyone at any time, but no-one knows what causes them.” 

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer but just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. The charity is striving to fund a network of seven dedicated research centres whilst challenging the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research.

Janice Wright, Community Fundraising Manager for Brain Tumour Research in London, said: “For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer. Stories like Tom’s remind us all that we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue. We are extremely grateful to Michael and all our riders for their support and congratulate them on an amazing achievement.”

To make a donation to Brain Tumour Research via Michael’s JustGiving page, go to http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Botting1

Brain Tumour Research is campaigning to see the national spend on brain tumour research increased to £30 - £35 million a year, in line with breast and leukaemia, in order to advance treatments, and ultimately find a cure.

For further information, please contact:
Lexie Dabney at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867222 or 07591 206545 or lexie.dabney@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 are building a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, £5.5 million was raised towards research and support during 2016.

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 charity is celebrating a year of high-profile campaigning on this issue following the unprecedented success of its petition in 2016. Following that, Brain Tumour Research is now taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research.

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
• 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.