Blog: Incredible fundraisers visit lab in memory of loved ones

Brain Tumour Research

4 min read

Some of our most impactful fundraisers visited the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) earlier this week. During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, they heard from scientists about the great progress being made to find, test and validate new treatment options for paediatric-type diffuse high-grade gliomas (PHDGG) and placed tiles on the Wall of Hope in memory of those they have lost.

The Brain Tumour Research Wall of Hope

Three young individuals who lost their lives to brain tumours were honoured on Tuesday (10^th September) at the ICR in Sutton, London. Sam Bravo-Hibberd, who was 34 when he died, 17-year-old Ethan Treharne, and Ella McCreadie, just 13, were remembered by loved ones who have all raised significant funding for groundbreaking research into brain tumours.

Among those placing tiles on the Wall of Hope was Sam’s wife, Mauricee (pictured above), who made a substantial donation to fund 100 days of next generation genome sequencing after father-of-three Sam passed away in September 2023. His tragic diagnosis came just two months after the birth of their third child.

Ethan’s mum, Nikki, together with her son’s aunt, Kari, cousin, Jacob, and family friend Claire, placed nine tiles on the Wall of Hope (pictured above), representing the nine whole days of research their fundraising has enabled. “We had hoped to find a cure within Ethan’s lifetime,” Nikki said, “now it’s important to us to keep his memory and name alive.”

After teenage Ella’s sudden and unexpected death from a paediatric high-grade diffuse glioma-induced haemorrhage, parents Alastair McCreadie and Sophie Penrose have gone on to raise more than £47,000 through their Fundraising Group Ella’s Army.

After placing 11 tiles on the Wall, Alistair said: “Funding into research to bring about better outcomes for brain tumour patients has been woefully neglected for years. We’ve seen radical improvements in survival rates from leukaemia and breast cancer due to substantial investment into research, but not for brain tumours, where treatment options have barely changed in decades.”

Also in attendance was Rob Hughes, the founder of Anna’s Hope – a Member Charity of Brain Tumour Research. Named after his daughter, Anna Hughes was diagnosed with a brain tumour at three years old and passed away 15 months later.

Chairman of our Board of Trustees, Rob (pictured above), along with Anna’s mother Carole, have spent the last 18 years campaigning to improve the chances for children diagnosed with brain cancer.

What’s next for ICR’s brain tumour research?

Brain tumours make up over a quarter of all childhood cancers in the UK. 420 children are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year – that means at least one child and their parents have today received the worst news of their lives.

This week it was announced that our Centre at ICR is to receive a £500,000 funding boost from the Innovate UK Cancer Therapeutics programme, which focuses on developing life-changing cancer treatments, including immunotherapies and vaccines.

The news was welcomed by the supporters who attended ICR, where Nikki said: “When Ethan was diagnosed there were so few treatment options available in the UK, so we looked abroad for alternatives to try and keep our son alive, and this meant raising tens of thousands of pounds. Hearing that the team at ICR is benefitting from this significant sum to help them in their vital work to bring about better outcomes for children and hopefully kinder treatments is such great news, even though it’s too late for Ethan.”

Visitors heard from Dan Knowles, CEO of Brain Tumour Research, as well as Professor Chris Jones, Director of the Centre, who explained that, amongst his other findings, it’s now known that paediatric brain cancer has distinct genetic differences to adult forms of the disease. This discovery, funded by dedicated supporters like those who joined us for the lab tour, has brought renewed hope for better treatments and improved outcomes for children diagnosed with this devastating disease.

On the tour of the laboratory, fundraisers were shown the parts of the lab where DNA analysis is undertaken, as well as where novel drug treatments are conducted on tumour cells taken from patients of hospitals across London.

The Centre will also benefit from the addition of a Brain Tumour Research-funded PhD student. Carla Fuentes-Guerra Bustos will build on work by Professor Chris Jones (pictured above) and the team at ICR which identified proteins that the cancer is dependent upon. She aims to make new molecules to target these proteins and selectively kill PDHGG cancer cells.

Get Involved and Fund Future Research: Walk of Hope 2024

Dan told supporters: “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the devastating disease since records began in 2002. This has to change.”

That’s where you can help.

Not only is September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but at the end of the month we are holding our annual Walk of Hope fundraiser.

Across the country, including in Ellesmere where Ella lived with her parents (pictured above), people just like you are gearing up to take part in local walks to raise money and inspire hope for brain tumour patients and their loved ones.

Get involved in a Walk of Hope near you or discover how you can fundraise your own way to help us find a cure for all types of brain tumours.