Yesterday (Thursday 6th March), a group of selfless supporters were invited to our Centre of Excellence at The University of Plymouth – alongside BBC Spotlight, which filmed the event – to find out how their fundraising is helping the game-changing work of scientists.
Our team at the University of Plymouth focus particularly on research into low-grade brain tumours, which often go on to develop into high-grade brain tumours with much poorer prognoses for patients. The Centre, one of Europe’s leading research institutes for low-grade brain tumours, is proactively working with national and international groups to swiftly translate their research into clinical benefit for patients.
Among the supporters was Joshua Jones (below, centre right), from Devon, who has raised more than £8,800, after being diagnosed with a grade 3 astrocytoma in July 2023.
Joshua’s chemotherapy treatment finished in September 2024, and he now has three-monthly scans to check for tumour growth. He attended the lab tour with his dad, Michael, alongside friend and fellow fundraiser Ben Clarke and his mum, Debi.
Joshua and his group were given the opportunity to tour the research labs – led by Director Professor Oliver Hanemann – and to speak with scientists about their work to find a cure. They also placed three tiles on the Wall of Hope at the Centre, representative of the £2,740 it costs to sponsor each day of research.
Also attending the tour were a family from Devon who dedicated nine days of research, after raising more than £24,000, in memory of a beloved family member and his former partner, both lost to brain tumours within two months of each other in 2023.
Steve Morrissey, 50, who was from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, died in October 2023 from a glioblastoma. His former partner, Ali Slaymaker, the mother of his daughter, now aged 14, had died, aged 49, in August of the same year, after her breast cancer had metastasised to her brain.
Yesterday, Steve’s nieces and nephew – Abi Coffey (who is bringing up Steve and Ali’s daughter, pictured here second from right), and Natalie and Ben Brown, along with other family members, placed tiles in Steve and Ali’s honour.
Annette O’Mahoney, from Cannock (below, second from left), was inspired to support Brain Tumour Research after losing her husband Kevin, aged 54, in May 2019, a year after his diagnosis with a high-grade brain tumour.
Along with family, including Kevin’s brother Ges (pictured top left) and his wife Annie, Annette set up a Fundraising Group called In Kev's Memory, which to date has raised close to £23,000. Yesterday, they placed eight tiles dedicated to Kevin on the Wall of Hope at the Centre.
During the day, Joshua and Abi spoke with BBC Spotlight to share their stories, stressing the vital need for research funding. The programme will be aired during March, to mark Brain Tumour Awareness Month.
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