Heysham woman with a brain tumour raises thousands of pounds to fund vital research

Laura Liver, 35, was diagnosed with an astrocytoma in August 2016. Despite having surgery, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Laura’s latest scan in August 2023 showed the tumour has grown.

Despite this, Laura, an enterprise programme officer at Lancaster University, has raised more than £5,500 for the charity Brain Tumour Research with events including a skydive in Lancaster in September 2022.

Yesterday (October 12), Laura and husband Marc, 37, were among a select group of supporters given the opportunity to tour Brain Tumour Research’s Centre of Excellence at Imperial College, London.

Laura said: “It was so interesting to see the work the researchers are doing. They are an amazing team and it’s great to learn about the new things they’re investigating.

"Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours since records began in 2002.

"The money I’ve raised is to help everyone affected by brain tumours because the more we put into it, the more we’ll get out.”

Laura and Marc heard presentations from neurosurgeon and research fellow Dr Giulio Anichini and senior research fellow Dr Nelofer Syed, both from Imperial, as well as from Hugh Adams, head of stakeholder relations at Brain Tumour Research. They were then given a tour of the labs and learned more about the progress being made to find a cure for brain tumours through speaking with the scientists working there.

After, Laura and Marc placed a tile, representative of the £2,740 it costs to fund a day of research, on the centre’s Wall of Hope.

Laura said: “Being at the Wall of Hope was a really poignant moment. It further stresses how important money is to research brain tumours.

"The Government needs to do more and certainly needs to fairly distribute its cancer funding.”

One in three people knows someone affected by a brain tumour and in the UK 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are really grateful to Laura and Marc for their incredible fundraising, as it’s only with the support of people like them that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Laura, who are forced to fight this awful disease.

“Laura’s story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age. We cannot allow this desperate situation to continue. Brain Tumour Research is determined to change outcomes for brain tumour patients and ultimately find a cure.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and ultimately, to find a cure.

The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To find out more about Sponsoring a Day of research go to www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/sponsor-a-day