Businesses, schools, activity groups and families across Stockport got behind Brain Tumour Research’s annual Wear A Hat Day last week to help fund vital research into the disease. 

Among those taking part were Crystal Chords, an all-female harmony choir who sing in a barbershop style, who donned Easter bonnets and sold cakes on Thursday 29th March.

Musical Director of the choir, Monica Funnell, lost her brother to a brain tumour in February 2014 after he battled the disease for 15 months. More recently, choir member Celine Macdonald-Matti has lost her husband Fraser on 1st March 2018. He was just 53 years old. 

Fraser was diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma tumour, a very aggressive type of tumour in August 2016 after he was unable to find words and was slurring his speech during a routine GP appointment. 

Celine said: “For me, seeing Fraser’s diminished abilities was the worst. He was very clever and witty, but suddenly he could no longer read, write or process information correctly. Also, the loss of his cognitive abilities meant that he never understood he was terminally ill."

Sadly, brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone, at any age. What’s more, they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Crystal Chords member Alison Liddell said: “As a chorus of 50 women of varying ages and backgrounds, it is perhaps surprising for people to learn that several of our members and their families has been affected by brain tumours. We are delighted to do all we can to raise money for research into this in the hope that we will be able to contribute to the discovery of new treatments or perhaps one day, a cure.”

Elsewhere in the city, staff at Stockport’s Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) raised funds by holding a Mad Hatters Tea Party and holding a bake sale at their offices. While the team at Stockport’s famous hat museum, Hat Works, held a number of hat making workshops as well as a special hat making event at Merseyway shopping centre, judged by couture milliner, Justine Bradley Hill. Even the city’s town hall turned pink in honour of the charity’s signature pink hat to mark the occasion.

The annual Wear A Hat Day event has raised over a million pounds since it was launched by Brain Tumour Research nine years ago. The money raised is funding vital research that is taking place at the charity’s four dedicated Centres of Excellence, where scientists are focused on improving outcomes for patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

Andrea Pankiw, Community Fundraising Manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “It’s been great to see so many people from across Stockport donning their hats and raising money for Wear a Hat Day 2018. We would like to thank everyone for their support. Every year thousands of people are given the news that they have a brain tumour and often the treatment options are limited. The money raised from these events will go towards pioneering research that is taking place at our Centres of Excellence around the country.”

To get involved, or donate, please visit: www.wearahatday.org or text HAT to 70660 to donate £5*

#HATTASTIC

* Texts cost £5 plus network charge. Brain Tumour Research receives 100% of your donation. Obtain the bill payer’s permission. Call 01908 867200 with any queries. 


For further information, please contact:

Lexie Jenkins at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867222 or 07591 206545 or Lexie.Jenkins@braintumourresearch.org 


For more information about Crystal Chords visit www.crystalchords.org.uk or email enquiries@crystalchords.org.uk  For more information or to apply for a grant from the Mick Danby Music Fund, visit http://www.cdcf.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/grants-for-groups/mick-danby-music-fund


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 have established a game-changing network of world-class Research Centres of Excellence in the UK. Embracing passionate member charities nationwide, over £6 million was raised towards research and support during 2017.

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 unprecedented success of our 2015 petition led to the 2016 Westminster Hall debate and Brain Tumour Research taking a leading role in the Government’s Task and Finish Working Group convened to tackle the historic underfunding for research with the report being published in 2018.

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
• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age 
• 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.