Nicola Nuttall wants government to increase funding into brain tumour research

Laura Nuttall died from a glioblastoma (GBM) in May 2023 when she was just 23 years old. Mum Nicola, from Barrowford, has been “horrified” by the statistics around brain tumours and the lack of government investment.

She was joined by Brain Tumour Research Patrons, Antiques Roadshow expert Theo Burrell and expert garden designer on the BBC’s The Instant Gardener, Danny Clarke, along with a group of dedicated campaigners in handing over the 81,336-strong petition which calls for increased investment for research into the devastating disease which kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

Dan Knowles, chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, said: “Today, we are calling on the Government to ring-fence £110 million of current and new funding to kick-start an increase in the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year by 2028.”

Nicola said: “Laura was passionate about raising awareness and finding a cure. It broke her heart every time she heard of another young person diagnosed with a brain tumour; it’s eight months since we lost our beautiful daughter, we miss her every minute of every day but I know campaigning for change is what she wanted us to do, so that in the future, other families don’t have to endure the same devastation that we have.”

The charity wants the Government to recognise brain tumour research as a critical priority. It says the increase in research investment would put brain tumours in line with the spend on cancers of breast, bowel and lung, as well as leukaemia.

In a letter accompanying the petition, Dan Knowles said: “In the last 20 years, research spend in the UK on breast cancer has been six times more than brain tumours – and survival rates have doubled. Leukaemia has received four times more funding and survival rates have increased six-fold. UK universities deliver world-class research and are poised to make further breakthroughs. Now is the time for the Government to invest in our globally leading research institutions in order to deliver cures.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and 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.