enquiries@sdbtt.co.uk 0845 130 9733

News

Alfie Morland Footbridge: let the construction begin!

SDBTT Alfie Morland Fund

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.


Jack and Tracey face brain tumours head-on

SDBTT supporters raise funds and awareness

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


SDBTT supporter Tracey Marshall and her brave son Jack were front page news in a recent issue of the Scunthorpe Telegraph.  Tracey told the story of how Jack, 5,  was diagnosed with a type of brain tumour called a medulloblastoma last year, and has been receiving treatment ever since.  Tracey has also set up a JustGiving page to raise funds for SDBTT.

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.

SDBTT unveils test to improve treatment for childhood brain cancer

A British test which will revolutionise the approach to tackling childhood brain cancer, and improve the quality of life for hundreds of sufferers, has been given approval to be introduced across Europe.

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…

Music brings Hope

Mark and Sue Da Silva, a husband and wife team who have been performing and writing songs for nearly 25 years, have started a new project, D*Silva, after the death of their adopted son, William.

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***

Album Cover 1

Over £½million awarded in new research grants

We are proud to announce funding for six new grants for top-quality brain tumour research totalling £590,000 over 3 years.

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…