Taking funding battle to Parliament
Parents who lost son to brain tumour warn of Brexit funds impact
A COUPLE who lost their 27-year-old-son to a brain tumour travelled to Westminster to meet parliamentarians, including Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan, and hear how future research funding might be affected by Brexit.
Eileen and Terry Smith, from Burton on the Wolds, whose son Michael died in 2015 after fighting a three-year battle against the aggressive cancer, attended a cross-party parliamentary group.
The group was set up to champion the cause of brain tumours, a disease that kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
Made up of peers and MPs the group met up to discuss issues, including ongoing funds for research and accessing EUwide clinical trials, which members believe require urgent attention before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.
A COUPLE who lost their 27-year-oldson to a brain tumour travelled to Westminster to meet parliamentarians, including Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan, and hear how future research funding might be affected by Brexit.
Eileen and Terry Smith, from Burton on the Wolds, whose son Michael died in 2015 after fighting a three-year battle against the aggressive cancer, attended a cross-party parliamentary group.
The group was set up to champion the cause of brain tumours, a disease that kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
Made up of peers and MPs the group met up to discuss issues, including ongoing funds for research and accessing EU-wide clinical trials, which members believe require urgent attention before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.
Mrs Smith said after the meeting: “It is vital that we continue to lobby the government and keep up pressure on the larger cancer charities to ensure this cause is given the attention and the funding it deserves.
“Brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age, therefore we must do all we can to make sure research funding, access to clinical trials and new drugs are not hindered as we prepare to leave the EU.”
Nicky Morgan added: “I want to pay tribute to the work of Brain Tumour Research, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours but, most importantly, to my constituents Terry and Eileen who have campaigned so hard to make the case for more funding for research into treatments for brain tumours.
“They have shared their own personal family experiences with me and I am very pleased to support them and their call that leaving the EU should not impact negatively on future research and funding.”
Sue Farrington Smith MBE, the chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, the UK charity focused on funding sustainable research to find a cure for brain tumours, added: “It is in everyone’s interest to further this cause and ensure that research into brain tumours does not falter in its progress.
“The All Party Parliamentary Group on brain tumours was established to tackle decades of underfunding for research and other issues affecting families.
“Even now, less than 20 per cent of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years, compared with an average of 50 per cent across all cancers.
“It is inconceivable that patients and families, already desperate for a cure, should face any avoidable delay.”