Generous shoppers and retailers in Middlesbrough are bringing us closer to a brain tumour cure by joining in the fundraising at a Coulby Newham shopping centre.

Parkway Shopping Centre has been rallying its customers and staff to raise money and awareness towards research into brain tumours and on Monday 14 January a cheque for £763 was presented to the Brain Tumour Research charity.

This initial donation was raised throughout December at the centre’s Santa’s Grotto with local families chipping in to boost Parkway’s total. Through its fundraising, Parkway Shopping Centre is also raising awareness of the fact that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Despite this, historically only 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Zoe France, Centre Manager at Parkway Shopping Centre, said: “We’re delighted to have raised more than £750 for Brain Tumour Research in December and looking ahead to 2019, we want to raise even more. Our next event will be Wear A Hat Day in March which will be a fun and easy way for people to get involved and make a difference.”

The cause is extremely close to Zoe’s heart following the loss of her sister-in-law Janine Skeen. Janine began losing her vision in August 2016 and was subsequently diagnosed with a highly aggressive brain tumour known as a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). She underwent surgery and treatment but died in September 2017 on her 45^th birthday, leaving husband Ashley and 14-year-old daughter Georgia.

Matthew Price, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research in the North East, said: “Thanks to Zoe, her colleagues and all the shoppers at Parkway who have contributed to this donation. We’re extremely grateful for their support and look forward to their Wear A Hat Day fundraiser.

“Wear A Hat Day has raised over a million pounds since it was launched by Brain Tumour Research 10 years ago and is the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month in March. Taking place this year on Friday 29 March, the event will see schools, workplaces, families and individuals across the UK fundraising and taking part in fun events to raise awareness of brain tumours and help fund life-saving research.”

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.

To register for Wear A Hat Day, go to: https://www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/wear-a-hat-day

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.