A professional musician who was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was a toddler has visited Westminster to hear MPs and clinicians review a year of momentous progress.

Rosie Glass, from Dartford, attended the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) at the House of Commons on Tuesday 17th July.  

She was among families, patients, clinicians, carers, scientists, and MPs, at the event as the group set out priorities for the forthcoming parliamentary year. They heard that the APPGBT would drive forward recommendations of an inquiry into the social and economic impacts of brain tumours when it reports in the autumn.

Among the speakers was Sue Farrington Smith, Chief Executive of the Brain Tumour Research charity, who said: “We are proud to have played a key role as the APPGBT has campaigned for change over 12 years. We now look forward to the inquiry report as well as continuing to see the impact of the newly-formed Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission along with new funding commitments and other initiatives announced this year.”

Flautist and part-time music teacher Rosie, 37, was diagnosed with an astrocytoma when she was 18-months-old and since then has had to undergo surgery, radiotherapy and immunotherapy as the tumour recurred three times. Her tumour has remained stable since 2007, however, Rosie now lives with a severe visual impairment.

Rosie said: “My tumour has been stable for 11 years and the sight-loss has been just about adaptable, yet the complications of the disease continue to impact my life. Having a disability has limited my career prospects and I’ve had to deal with the stigma that comes with walking with a white cane. I’m passionate about supporting people with any kind of impairment, and I want to help the Brain Tumour Research charity improve outcomes for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.”

For more information go to: www.braintumourresearch.org



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