A teenager who is living with a brain tumour has inspired a 300km cycling challenge to help fund research into the disease.

Charlotte Reid, 18, of Sidmouth, Devon, saw in the new year from her hospital bed. She lives with complex and debilitating health conditions following life-saving treatment for a brain tumour, which was diagnosed in July 2015. Once a happy-go-lucky teenager, she is now dependent on her parents Angela and Steve and has frequent hospital admissions.

Moved by Charlotte’s story, dad-of-two David Salter, of Swindon, is gearing up to complete a bike ride from London to Paris in just 24 hours. He hopes to raise £1,000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity.

David, 34, who is a close friend of the Reid family, will set off from the Greenwich Observatory on 4 May 2019 before cycling 105km through Surrey and catching an overnight ferry to Dieppe in France. From there, he will wind his way a further 195km to Paris.

David, a carpenter who lives with his wife Jodie and their two children Erin, four, and Bella, two, said: “This will be the furthest I’ve ever cycled and unforgettable experience that I hope will make me stronger both mentally and physically. While it will be a massive challenge, Charlotte will be in my thoughts every pedal of the way.

“I was saddened to hear that Charlotte spent Christmas and the new year in hospital and, motivated by her experience, I’m setting myself an ambitious fundraising target to help fund the fight against brain tumours.”

Angela Reid added: “It’s heart-breaking to see Charlotte so poorly, especially at what should normally be such a happy time of year. Sadly, hospital admissions have been a regular part of her life. Charlotte’s diagnosis with a craniopharyngioma turned our world upside down and she now lives with huge and life-changing side effects following six weeks of treatment, a necessary evil. She deserves nothing more than to be looking forward to an exciting future, perhaps looking at universities, starting work, or travelling with friends, and not to be spending the new year in hospital.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated 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, senior community fundraising manager at Brain Tumour Research in the South East, said: “We are extremely grateful for David’s support and wish him the very best of luck for his cycle. Charlotte’s story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, 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, and we are proud to be changing this.”

To donate to Brain Tumour Research via David’s JustGiving page go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/David-Salter9

For further information, please contact:

Annie Slinn at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 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) 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.