This week we were both pleased and proud to sit on the BBC Breakfast sofa alongside BBC Scotland’s political editor Glenn Campbell, who has chronicled his experience of living with brain cancer in a candid new documentary which aired on Wednesday.
The journalist was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma in summer 2023, after he began suffering from seizures. Following surgery to remove the tumour, Glenn endured punishing rounds of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
In the intimate film, Glenn documents his difficult year of gruelling treatment and endless uncertainty. “It’s a big shock to be told you have a life-limiting condition,” said Glenn. “My tumour is almost certainly what will kill me, although hopefully not for a long time yet.”
Motivated by his own shortened lifespan and the stories of so many others just like his, Glenn has since spent a huge amount of time and energy raising awareness of brain tumours. The documentary follows on from the incredible work that he has already completed on behalf of the brain tumour community.
The iPlayer link to watch this gentle, profound film is below and alongside being on BBC Breakfast we, and our campaigners, offered comment and support on a number of other outlets.
These included BBC Good Morning Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland Lunchtime Live, BBC Three Counties, BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime, BBC Radio 5Live and the BBC News Channel.
This was alongside being available to talk to media outlets about the Davina McCall story and promoting our fundraiser Colin Miller as, in the words of the BBC, the "Man who played guitar during surgery raises funds."
As we always say, people can't support a cause unless they know it exists. Many more people know about Brain Tumour Research this week than they did before – well done our PR professionals who work so tirelessly for Brain Tumour Research, making sure we make the most of every opportunity to amplify our voice and get our message heard.
My Brain Tumour and Me - BBC iPlayer
This week we attended the Annual General Meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Medical Research in Wales.
The attendees from the Senedd included Mike Hedges MS, Sam Rowlands MS and George Russell MS. We were also joined by interested charity representatives and researchers.
George Russell MS was re-elected as Chair of the Group with the British Heart Foundation Cymru providing the Secretariat through Policy and Public Affairs Manager Bethan Edwards.
During the short meeting, we discussed possible future topics for the Group. These range from sustainable funding for medical research and accessing cutting-edge treatments to the importance of genomics.
On Tuesday, Evan attended the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce event in Westminster. The event saw strong attendance from MPs and highlighted their shared determination to drive tangible change. The event highlighted how charities are being left to shoulder the burden alone in improving outcomes for patients with less survivable cancers, emphasising the urgent need for greater Government support. We look forward to continuing these important discussions with many of the MPs who attended at our upcoming All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting next Tuesday.
That's it for this week and it is a much shorter update than usual but we are off to Westminster again now to offer more comment for television and then onto a meeting with Health Minister Andrew Gwynne.
So with this ministerial meeting coming up, plus an APPG event on Tuesday, you can expect a bumper update next Friday!
Wishing you all a peaceful week,
Hugh, Thomas and Evan
Published Friday 22nd November 2024.