A schoolgirl who underwent emergency surgery to remove a brain tumour has launched a Christmas appeal to help find a cure for the disease.

Determined Poppy Eden is sharing her inspiring story in order to bring hope to other patients and their families. And her wish this Christmas is to raise £5,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity.

Poppy from Chatham, Kent, was just 11 when she was diagnosed with a pilocytic astrocytoma. Her symptoms, which included pain so bad she could barely lift her head, had initially been dismissed or written off as nasal congestion before the terrifying diagnosis was revealed.

But now, two years on, keen dancer Poppy is determined to share her story in order to help and inspire others.

She said: “My brain tumour was missed on so many occasions. I think we went to the doctor about 22 times before we found out. My tumour was low-grade and the surgeon managed to remove most of it so I was able to get back to my life without any further treatment.

“I genuinely feel very lucky and know that I was one of the fortunate ones. Lots of children are affected by brain tumours and it is awful to think that many of them grow up with life-changing conditions as a result and others will die so young.

“There are very few treatments available and surgery is very risky. Patients like me and those in the future rely on research in order to improve options and hopefully to find a cure one day.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at Research 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.

Tim Green, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

“We are so grateful to Poppy for helping to launch our Christmas fundraising appeal in the South East. Poppy is such a wonderful girl with a very positive outlook and I hope people will be touched by her story and give what they can to help this Christmas time. Together we will find a cure.”

To make a donation to Poppy’s appeal please go to https://www.braintumourresearch.org/our-christmas-wish/poppy

For further information, please contact:
Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867239 or 07591 206545 or Annie.Slinn@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
• 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.