Kentish Express Ashford & District
Abbie’s parents take their campaign to Parliament
An Ashford couple who lost their six-year-old daughter to a brain tumour travelled to Westminster last week to speak out against spending cuts to life-saving research.
New figures from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) show national spend on cancer research allocated to brain tumours decreased to just 1.37% in 2015.
Ray Mifsud and Amanda Walker were among patients, carers, activists, charities and politicians who attended the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on brain tumours law Wednesday.
The pair are the parents of Abbie Mifsud, who died of inoperable and incurable brain tumour Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), just five months after she was diagnosed.
Amanda, 48, who launched the charity Abbie’s Army to raise awareness of DIPG and contribute funding to research, said the spending cuts were outrageous.
She said: “This September marks the fifth anniversary of Abbie’s death and still nothing has been done to improve outcomes for the 40 children in the UK who are diagnosed with DIPG each year. It is outrageous to think that national spending on brain tumours actually went down in 2015.
“When Abbie was diagnosed we were told that no one survives this kind of tumour and we were given a front row seat to something no one should have to watch. We are determined to do all that we can to help other families and save them from decades of despair.”
Abbie’s Army is backing a new online petition calling for more research into DIPG. Visit www. abbiesarmy.co.uk or find the petition at petition.parliament. uk/petitions/131556.