Pledging Support to Raise Awareness of Brain Tumours

A few days ago I met with constituent, Jack Byam-Thaw, former brain tumour patient and grandson of Sheila Hancock and John Thaw. Jack joined over 100 other patients, carers, charities and healthcare professionals in a mass lobby of Parliament intended to highlight the need for more action on brain tumours.

As you can see above, I’ve signed a pledge promising to do more to highlight some little-known facts about brain tumours and ensure more parents and doctors in Hammersmith know the symptoms of a disease few people know much about despite its prevalence:

• Brain tumours kill more children and more people under 40 than any other cancer;
• Brain tumours reduce life expectancy by over 20 years on average – more than breast, colon, lung, prostrate, cervix, ovary, melanoma, leukaemia, Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, kidney, pancreas, oesophagus, stomach, uterus, myeloma, and bladder cancers.
• 8,600 primary brain tumours are registered in the UK every year, but many go unrecorded. Research by the brain tumour charities suggest the true figure is closer to 16,000 and that 32,000 people develop secondary brain tumours in the UK every year which go unrecorded.

Hopefully, highlighting the issue can lead to a better understanding of the severity and incidence rate of brain tumours so that existing resources are allocated more fairly and effectively. That’s why I’m delighted to be able to show my support for action on brain tumours, and to be able to raise awareness of this issue.