A husband and wife, who have both been diagnosed with brain tumours, are backing our petition calling for greater investment in research.
Colin Jamieson, 59, was diagnosed with two brain tumours, later identified as most likely to be grade 1 subependymomas or ependymomas, in July 2018. He has undergone two shunt surgeries, two debulking surgeries and radiotherapy, and is being monitored with regular scans. He now suffers from impaired hearing and struggles with his memory.
Devastatingly, Colin’s wife Anita, 45, was diagnosed with a meningioma in September 2019. She said: “At first I was shocked, really scared for our daughter, Hollie, and extremely angry. It seemed so unfair that Colin and I would both be affected by this disease, but I’ve now learned to accept it.”
The couple are now sharing their story to help inspire people to sign our petition calling on the Government to ring-fence £110 million of current and new funding to kick-start an increase in the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year by 2028.
Anita added: “I feel very strongly about the need for increased investment in research into brain tumours. I find it disgusting that just 1% has been allocated from the national spend on cancer research since records began, despite it being the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. It’s a horrific cancer, a truly debilitating one that robs people of who they are.
“I want others to understand the indiscriminate nature of this disease. It doesn’t matter who you are, or if you’re related or known to someone with a brain tumour. I used to wonder what the chances were of two people getting together and having brain tumour diagnoses but actually I imagine it’s quite high. That’s why I would encourage everyone to sign and share this petition because, heaven forbid, they too could be affected by this.”
Help us achieve our goal of 100,000 signatures in the hope of prompting a parliamentary debate. Sign and share our petition now: www.braintumourresearch.org/petition