Mum demands more funding after son’s tragic death

Arsalan Ali

2 min read

A grieving mum is campaigning for increased funding into brain tumour research after her four-year-old son died just four months after being diagnosed with the disease.

Rayhan Majid died from a high-grade medulloblastoma on 7^th April 2018. Prior to his diagnosis, his parents Nadia and Sarfraz took him to four different GPs, but their concerns were dismissed.

Now, Nadia is working with Brain Tumour Research to raise awareness of this devastating disease. Rayhan’s story reached millions of people with widespread articles, including in The Times Scotland, and Nadia spoke emotively about her son’s tragic death on BBC Radio Scotland (listen here from 2 hours and 40 minutes).

The family is being supported by their MP Anum Qaisar-Javed, who raised the issue of childhood cancer research at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) and has followed this up with a written request for a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Anum Qaisar-Javed said: “Any life lost to cancer is devastating but the loss of a child is a tragedy most parents wish never to experience. Since losing her son Rayhan, Nadia has worked bravely to raise awareness of childhood brain tumours and fight for increased funding and research into the field.

“Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer and it is essential that we do all we can to support young people and families who are living with these illnesses. It is vital that we increase funding for life-saving research to improve the outcomes for children and young people diagnosed with brain tumours.

“I am proud to support this cause and am honoured that Nadia has allowed me to share her story at PMQs to highlight the importance of improving funding and research into childhood brain tumours.”

Nadia said: “We are so grateful for Anum’s support and for raising much-needed awareness about the lack of improvement in diagnosis times and treatment options. We want to honour Rayhan and continue his legacy by raising awareness of brain tumours.”

To sign up to campaign with Brain Tumour Research, please complete our online form.