We’ve been delighted to welcome supporters sponsoring days of research to our Centres of Excellence in the last few months.
Our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London opened its doors for guests to learn first-hand about the work going on to find a cure, especially for deadly glioblastoma (GBM), which has an average survival of just 12 to 18 months.
Helen Pickford, Jackie Duke and Laura Rose who all lost their husbands to GBM were among visitors keen to meet scientists leading the way in research into GBM. They heard from Principal Investigator Professor Silvia Marino (pictured top) about how her team is focused on increasing our understanding of GBM tumours in adults and finding new, kinder treatments for medulloblastoma and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in children.
Lydia and Lorna Smith lost their dad Barry during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, so the family was unable to give him a proper send off at the time. In January this year, along with mum Jacqui, the girls hosted a festival fundraiser at their local pub, attended by many of builder Barry’s clients, friends, family and colleagues. It raised almost £11,500 allowing the daughters to place four tiles on the Wall of Hope in Barry’s memory to signify the equivalent of four days of research sponsored.
Lorna said: “Watching Dad change in front of our eyes was horrible. I would have given one of my limbs to save him. Instead, we face a future without him being around to watch me and my sister get married and have a family of our own.”
Meanwhile, Luke Sidwell, who lost his brother, again to a GBM, was at Queen Mary after raising enough to sponsor a day of research in memory of Scott, who died aged 28.
Luke said: “Scott and I were very close. There were only 11 months between us and we were in the same year at school, so people often thought we were twins. I feel like I have not only lost my brother, but my best friend.”
We were also pleased to welcome supporters from our Fundraising Groups to our Queen Mary Centre. Jane Barltrop set up Fluffy Cloud and Co with her daughters, Emma and Alice, after she lost her husband Peter to a GBM in 2016. The group has raised more than £35,000 and Jane placed 11 tiles in Peter’s memory.
Just over a year since losing her husband John Lilley to a GBM, Alison has raised more than £12,000 through her Fundraising Group, John’s Crew. She attended the tour with her son, Dan, and his wife, Tilini.
And Hannah King-Page, who set up Hannah’s Kingdom to raise vital funds, also placed tiles alongside her mum Norma Thomas. Hannah was diagnosed with a GBM in 2020 and since her diagnosis has taken on a series of epic challenges for Brain Tumour Research, including braving a firewalk and completing our Jog 26 Miles in May challenges. But she’s not stopping there. Next March, she’ll be part of a team taking on our Trek Sahara 2025 challenge. Find out more here.
Our Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth focuses on low-grade brain tumours and we were pleased to welcome a host of supporters to hear from the team about their work, which includes identifying and understanding the mechanism that makes a cell become cancerous and exploring ways to halt or reverse it.
It was particularly poignant to welcome Lee Masters and Vicki Hilborn, both living with grade 3 astrocytomas which had originally been low-grade when diagnosed. Along with their families, both Vicki and Lee are helping to sponsor vital research – Lee’s sister Paula organised a Walk of Hope between Torquay and Paignton and back and Vicki’s friend Mel ran the Plymouth half-marathon last year.
We also welcomed Simon Ross who said it was “encouraging” to hear about the work being undertaken at Plymouth, having lost his mum Denise to a brain tumour in 2018. Inspired by his mum, Simon has taken on a series of endurance challenges, including the Brutal 100 Mile in Wales, an 86km cycle ride and the 106km Isle of Wight Ultra Challenge.
We’re grateful to all of our supporters for the dedication to our cause and look forward to welcoming more of you to our Centres of Excellence at future lab tours.
Each of our Research Centres of Excellence needs £1 million a year to sustain the vital discovery research so desperately needed. That is £2,740 every day, per Centre. Each time you raise (or donate) £2,740, you can sponsor a day of research. To find out more, click here.
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