Elite swimmer and brain tumour campaigner Archie Goodburn has been promised a meeting with the Prime Minister following his impassioned plea on BBC Breakfast to give patients “a chance to fight for our lives”.
Archie, who is living with three inoperable oligodendrogliomas, said “the suffering is unbearable” as he delivered an emotional address directly to Andy Burnham during the live interview on Tuesday 4th August. He said: “There are clinical trials around the world, in the US, in Australia, in China, that could change lives. We are not seeing them in the UK and it is unfair and unjust. So please invest and make the difference because I’m on my knees begging for not just my own life, but those of my best friends and families all around the country. This has to change.”
Archie’s interview has been watched by millions across social media and yesterday, he received a response from the Prime Minister. In a comment on TikTok, Andy Burnham wrote: “Archie, thank you for this. I know how hard it must have been. What you're doing for other people while you're going through all this yourself shows the best of us. I'd really like to meet you and hear from you directly and I've asked my team to get in touch.”
Karen Noble, our Director of Research and Policy, has been highlighting the issues faced by brain tumour patients and the need for action from the Government in interviews, including on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Scotland News. She said: “We’re grateful to Archie for shining a light on the challenges faced by the brain tumour community. The attention he has brought to this devastating disease and its impact on the nearly 13,000 people diagnosed every year in the UK is incredible. We look forward to hearing the outcome of Archie’s meeting with the Prime Minister.
“The current funding for research is insufficient to deliver new, more effective treatments to the urgent timeline that families desperately need. We know sustained investment in research into other cancers has led to increased survival and better options for people. Now we need the same for brain tumour patients and that is why we are campaigning for governments to increase the nation investment in research into brain tumours to at least £45 million per year. We welcome the initiative of a national brain cancer lead, but increased investment remains central to our calls on government now as without it, we won’t find the breakthroughs in the lab that we desperately need.”
Since his diagnosis in 2024, Archie has passionately campaigned on behalf of the brain tumour community. He supported the launch of our Manifesto for Scotland in Holyrood in March, and he and his family have been regular attendees to meetings of the Cross-Party Groups on Brain Tumours, for which Brain Tumour Research provides the secretariat.
Archie with Dr Scott Arthur MP, instigator of the Rare Cancers Act, at the launch of our Manifesto for Scotland
Interviewed on BBC Breakfast again this morning, Archie said it had been a “whirlwind 24 hours” and to receive the response from Andy Burnham is “really encouraging”.
Your stories have the power to drive change. To find out how you can campaign with Brain Tumour Research and help increase the national investment in research into this devastating disease, click here.
Related reading:
- Donate to help increase the national investment in research into brain tumours
- Swimmer Archie Goodburn announces brain tumour diagnosis
