A colleague’s brain tumour diagnosis has motivated his workmates to raise money to help find a cure for the disease.

Staff at 12 McDonald’s restaurants across Manchester rallied round to raise £2,792 to fund the fight against brain tumours which kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

Franchisee Gerald Thompson rallied his 12 restaurants to fundraise throughout December in support of employee and brain tumour patient Neil Taylor. The money is a welcome boost for Neil’s Appeal which was recently launched as a Fundraising Group under the umbrella of the Brain Tumour Research.

Gerald, owner operator of C&T Restaurants, said: “Fundraising for Neil’s Appeal is the least I can do for Neil who has been a loyal and hard-working employee at McDonald’s for over a decade. His determination to fundraise towards a cure is inspiring and he has my full support.”

Franchise supervisor Neil was diagnosed with a grade 3 astrocytoma in February 2017 after suffering seizures in his sleep. Recently married to Alex and looking forward to the birth of their first child, the news devastated the young Middleton couple but they set out to raise money to help fund the fight against brain tumours. To date, more than £15,000 has been raised in Neil’s name by the couple themselves and their supporters who are known as #TaylorsWarriors.

Neil, aged 33, said: “We are on a mission to improve outcomes for brain tumour patients like myself and I want Neil’s Appeal to help bring us closer to a cure. The £2,792 raised is a significant step in the right direction and we’re extremely grateful to Gerald for his support.

“We have lots of exciting activities planned for 2019 and hope many more will join #TaylorsWarriors. We need as many people as possible to help us raise awareness of this disease. Together we will find a cure.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated 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.

Andrea Pankiw, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research in the North West, said: “Thank you to Gerald and everyone else who contributed towards this donation; their fundraising activity is also helping us to raise awareness of the fact that 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 this devastating disease and, with the help of our Fundraising Groups and supporters, we are proud to be changing this.”

To make a donation to Neil’s Appeal, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/neil-taylor27

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 ground-breaking research 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) which published its report Brain Tumours A cost too much to bear? in 2018. Led by the charity, the report examines the economic and social impacts of a brain tumour diagnosis. We are also a key player 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.