Employees from insurance company Zurich have helped to raise over £12,000 for a charity which funds research into brain tumours following the diagnosis and death of a colleague. 

Amanda Pay, a much-loved employee who worked at the firm’s office in Whiteley in Fareham for over 10 years, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2017 after a series of severe headaches. She joined her colleagues on Wear A Hat Day in March this year – a national fundraising event for the Brain Tumour Research charity – but this was to be her last day in the office as she passed away three weeks later. 

Following Amanda’s death, close friend and Zurich colleague Wendy Fearnley has continued to support the Brain Tumour Research charity by fundraising in Amanda’s memory. Zurich has also matched the money raised by employees during Wear A Hat Day and match funded Amanda’s funeral donations, helping to raise a total of £12,329 for the charity. 

The Brain Tumour Research charity is dedicated to raising funds for sustainable research at its Centres of Excellence. Employees and Amanda’s family members were invited to tour the centre at the University of Portsmouth in recognition of their fundraising efforts. They also placed tiles on the Wall of Hope in memory of Amanda, where each tile represents the £2,740 it costs for just one day of research into the disease. 

Wendy, an Executive Secretary at Zurich said: “Touring the research lab at the University of Portsmouth was an incredible experience. Before Amanda’s diagnosis and untimely passing, many of us didn’t know just how devastating the disease is and how fatal the prognosis can be for many patients. Amanda was an amazing person and all her Zurich colleagues miss her dearly. I’m proud we have raised so much money for Brain Tumour Research and we will continue to fund raise in her memory so we can make a difference in her name.” 

Tim Green, Community Fundraising Manager, said: “Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone, at any age, and stories like Amanda’s remind us that we cannot allow this situation to continue. 

“We are extremely grateful to Wendy and her colleagues at Zurich for their donation and continued support. I hope they will inspire others to host their own events and help us to fund the fight.” 

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