Cambridge woman who lost mum to brain tumour backs calls for government funding
She's backing a petition for more money spent on research into the disease
A woman from Peterborough who lost her mum to a brain tumour believes the government must do more to help increase research into the disease.
Wendy Griffin was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in 2018, but despite undergoing surgery and having chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she died two years later.
And in Glioblastoma Awareness Week, the charity Brain Tumour Research has launched a petition calling on the government to ringfence £110 million to resource and fund further studies.
It also wants the government to invest more than £35 million a year by 2028 for more research.
"The bottom line is with no funding, there's no cure"
Wendy’s daughter Michaela is also a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and studies brain tumours.
“We’re working tirelessly in the labs to discover new and novel treatments to increase early diagnosis and promote kinder treatments, but we can’t do that without the research and we can’t do that without the funding,” she said,
“The bottom line is with no funding, there’s no cure.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said it’s allocated £40 million for research into brain cancer.
Funding for more research is available - government
It also pledged to invest £1 billion a year for wider research.
“We’ve invested in every suitable application made and the funding will continue to be available for further studies to develop new treatments and therapies for brain tumours,” the spokesperson said.
“To encourage further successful applications, we are investing in infrastructure, workshops for researchers and training for clinicians.”
A petition set up by Brain Tumour Research needs 100,000 signatures by 31st October in order for it to be debated in Parliament.
But with enough backing, Michaela feels the call for more investment could not be stronger:
“The statistics around brain tumours are abysmal; they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but the government gives so little to research the disease,” she added.
"With the petition and getting enough signatures, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be put forward and debated.
“Our mum was our best friend; I’ve got two younger sisters and we now have to spend the rest of our lives without our mum.
“I like to think everything I’ve been able to do through my research and this campaign is for her and I’ve got her backing.”