James Cartlidge MP, Anna and Louis Brooks with George Freeman MP.
Campaign backed by Bures family leads to £45m boost for cancer research
Brain cancer research in the UK has gained a major boost of £45 million, following a campaign which was supported by a Bures couple, who lost their young daughter several years ago.
The UK Department of Health and Social Care announced that an estimated £20 million will be invested through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) over the next five years, which is set to double once new research proposals become available. In addition to this, Cancer Research UK confirmed it will be investing an extra £25 million into research of brain tumours during the same time period, on top of the £13 million it spends annually on research and development of new treatments. The campaign for greater funding boost was backed by Anna and Louis Brooks, whose daughter Daisy, a pupil at Bures Primary School, died from a brain tumour in 2014, at the age of seven.
Mrs Brooks said: “I was delighted to see the announcement, as brain cancer research has been underfunded for too long and it has been too difficult for pioneering doctors to get clinical trials up and running.
“My beloved daughter, Daisy, died in 2014, and though this announcement is too late to help her, I do hope it will give hope to families diagnosed in the future.”
Their story was shared during a parliamentary debate about funding levels for brain tumour research by South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, who said he had been very moved by the Brooks family’s experience.
Mr Cartlidge said after the announcement: “I am delighted this campaign has resulted in such a substantial funding increase and hope that it will help to further our understanding about brain tumours and develop treatments to save lives.”
Published by The Suffolk Free Press.