Construction is underway of an iconic footbridge in Hemel Hempstead, which is to be named after Alfie Jack Morland, who passed away  from a brain tumour in 2007, aged just 5½ months .

Alfie’s family have set up a hugely successful Umbrella Group in his name, and have so far raised over £60,000 for Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust.

See the article on the Great British Life website by clicking here.

To find out more about our Umbrella Groups, please click here, or you can find out about other ways in which you can help by clicking here.

Patrick's cousin, Rosie Clare

By William Clare, Rosie’s father.

Rosie Clare was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumour in December 2004 and underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy over an 18-month period. It is now approaching five years since she finished her treatment and Rosie, 14, is happily enjoying school with her friends. It is very exciting to see the recent breakthrough by a research team at Newcastle University, funded by SDBTT, which will allow doctors the opportunity to tailor treatment to the severity of a medulloblastoma tumour, thereby reducing side effects and improving survivability. SDBTT is widely recognised as being instrumental in making the UK a leading research centre into paediatric brain tumours.

SDBTT offered invaluable patient and family support to us during her illness and Rosie’s cousin Patrick (24) will be cycling with friends from Land’s End to John O’Groats over 10 days starting on 29th August in support of the charity.

Please follow the below link for details of how to sponsor him; all support would be much appreciated.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/patrickowenlejog2010

On Sunday 12th September between 3pm and 6pm, the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire will play host to the third annual Terry Fox Run. The 5km run will loop around the beautiful grounds of the hotel, where runners will experience the spectacular setting of Dogmersfield Park.

To complement the run, the Four Seasons Hotel is treating everyone at this exciting event with a mini-spa area, dedicated kids corner and delicious BBQ prepared by Chef Pannier. With a raffle taking place offering the chance to win such prizes as a stay in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago and a night’s stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Canary Wharf, this is an indulgent event not to miss out on.

With all the proceeds being split equally between the Terry Fox Foundation and Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, this is a fantastic way to support cancer research.

You can register online here for the run now!

See the full news story for details.

Tracey and Jack tell their story. Photograph courtesy of the Scunthorpe Telegraph.

See the full news story to read about Jack’s fight.

Many thanks go out to Tracey and Jack for raising both funds for brain tumour research and public awareness of brain cancer.

This year’s 10-mile run will take place on 10th October 2010, and will mostly involve running along footpaths and bridleways, with only a small section on a public road.

Click here for an entry form that includes further details, and here for a sponsorship form.

Runners at the 2009 Shaun Lee Johnstone Run

 

Jake’s Red Balloon Ball is planned for 23rd October 2010 at 7pm at the Manchester United FC ground in Old Trafford.  The event has been organised by David Kershaw, who lost his son Jake to an undiagnosed brain tumour aged just 2 years old.  The event will raise funds for the SDBTT Jake Lucas David Kershaw Fund and the Francis House Children’s Hospice in Manchester.

The occasion will have a black tie dress code and will include dinner, auctions and raffles.  Click here to download a poster for the event.  Tickets cost £50 per person and are available NOW, so please contact David on 07846 832414 to book.

Professor Steven Clifford and his team at  Newcastle University, funded by Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, have developed a test for children who have been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, the most common malignant childhood brain tumour. It will allow doctors to determine a much more detailed understanding of the severity of a tumour, enabling more appropriate treatment options and a more accurate prognosis.

The test has just been approved for implementation in European clinical trials at a meeting in Vienna at the International Society for Paediatric Neuro-Oncology conference.  It is set to pave the way for the development of similar tests across other tumour types.

See press release for further details…

As Sue says, “William was an amazing little boy, full of life, loving and funny, with an amazing ability to attract people wherever he went. When he was 6 years old he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, a Diffuse Pontine Glioma. This incurable disease, that only affects children, took our beautiful William’s life just four and a half months later, aged only 7; he died in our arms.

We were absolutely destroyed and couldn’t understand the purpose of our lives, but over time, we realised we had a compelling need to go beyond ourselves, and to help those children who are suffering just as William did. The D*Silva project has been started to make a difference for those children and to shine a light for William, to make a mark on the world for him, as he will never get the chance to do it for himself.

As music is a big part of our lives we decided to write an album as a tribute to William, using the funds generated from sales to support the charities that helped William and us through our most difficult times. This album will be Williams’s legacy. 80% of all download sales will be donated through TigerTot Records with the aim of supporting the work of the Round Table Children’s Wish, the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, and the Make A Wish Foundation, all of whom so readily provide amazing help and opportunity to children and families everywhere.

The album is entitled “Hope” as this is something we believe everyone deserves, but sadly not all have. William should be here, but he isn’t – and other children will lose their fight against this terrible illness so please help us to help these children and their families. Through this project should one family be spared the ordeal that William suffered, or should one child experience their most desired wish, then it will have all been worthwhile. William is our shining light; our whole life, and we will miss him forever.

We have received amazing support and fantastic feedback from all over the world, and if there is anyone out there who has any contacts or services they can offer which could help this project, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

The album is now available for download on iTunes and all other major download sites, we hope you enjoy it and spread the word so we can raise a fortune for our amazing charities. Please help a great cause!”

For additional information about D*Silva please go to www.myspace.com/dsilvahq

To purchase a CD at a cost of £10.00 (plus postage & packaging of £1.00) please contact the SDBTT office on 0845 130 9733 or email enquiries@sdbtt.co.uk

*** UPDATE: By clicking on the image below, you can listen to ”Hope”, one of the songs from the album***

Prof. Steven Clifford, Newcastle University

The new grants include three laboratory-based research projects at the Universities of Newcastle and Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research at Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. In addition we have launched a joint clinical trials initiative with Cancer Research UK in which we are co-funding two clinical trials for brain tumour patients, as well as providing a project officer and biomedical scientist to promote and support further UK-based trials.

This research has been made possible by the inspirational efforts of all our supporters in raising funds for brain tumour research. 

Read more about the exciting new grants…