Awareness Month Aims To Get People Thinking About Brain Tumours

A host of sponsored runs, coffee mornings, and other fundraising events will be taking place during March to help mark Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

The annual event is designed to be a fun way to raise awareness of brain tumours and also to shine a spotlight on the lack of funding and research in this area.

This year, the focus is also on how brain tumour diagnoses affect the families and carers of those suffering.

What is Brain Tumour Awareness Month about?

Brain Tumour Awareness Month was launched a number of years ago by the charity Brain Tumour Research, although since then a number of other charities have become involved including Children With Cancer and Brains Trust.

This year, Brains Trust says it wants to focus on how a brain tumour diagnosis affects the whole family, not just the sufferer.

As such, the charity is asking for parents and carers of those with brain tumours to share their stories and is also reminding people that they are not alone – as there are 60,000 people in the UK currently living with a brain tumour.

Why is it important?

Brain Tumour Research says that while one in ten cancer deaths are related to a brain tumour – rising to one in three cancer-related deaths in children under 15 – only a tiny proportion, about two per cent, of cash spent in the UK on cancer research is ploughed into this area.

Research into other types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancers, receives a huge amount of funding by comparison, and Brain Tumour Research is doing its best to raise awareness while also trying to close the funding gap.

What can you do to support Brain Tumour Awareness Month?

Lots of charities are getting involved in Brain Tumour Awareness Month but Brain Tumour Research is a good place to start if you want to learn more.

Even if you can’t raise money, the charity is compiling stories and experiences of those affected by brain tumours as well as their families and loved ones, in a bid to get people thinking about how they can help.

Brain tumour negligence claims

If you have suffered the loss of a loved one from a brain tumour because of delays in diagnosis or treatment, or you yourself have suffered a delay in diagnosis or treatment of cancer, it might be possible to bring a claim against the hospital.

Such claims can be very complicated and it is vital to get the best advice from the outset.