The Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT), the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity, has benefited from the fundraising efforts of students from Lancing College Preparatory School at Hove. The students have raised £1,247 in response to the DHT’s ‘Grand Challenge’ campaign, whereby the charity hopes to raise £180,000 to fund a brain tumour research project.
The students were inspired to raise the money by Claire Bullimore, 33, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008 and who gave a talk at the school earlier this year.
Claire said, “I will always remember the day the doctor said, ‘I’m very, very sorry but we can’t help you, you have a very small percentage chance of recovery.”
“I knew things were going to change drastically: I had lost my speech, had trouble with word finding, partially blind, weak on one side, heavily reliant on seizure medication, suffering from fatigue. However determined you are medication and brain surgery wears you down.”
“After my own battle to get as much as possible out of my life regardless of my health and disabilities, I knew that I wanted to help others. While I sat at home recovering, I set up www.auntymbraintumours.co.uk as a place for people to meet others and interact. I became a presenter on www.croydonradio.com with a show dedicated to people affected by a brain tumour.”
“I am supporting the Grand Challenge to raise awareness of brain tumours, to show that they can affect anyone, of any age, at any time. Animals are not humans, and if there are ways to advance human and animal medicine without the suffering and death of lab animals, that has to be not only a good thing, but the most obvious way to go.”
Dr Kay Miller, Group Head of Operations at the Dr Hadwen Trust, said, “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 is allocated to brain tumour research. This needs to change.”
“Claire has been incredibly brave and we are extremely grateful to her for her help in publicising the Grand Challenge. We are also very grateful to the Lancing College Preparatory School students for their amazing fundraising effort.”
Said Mr Alan Laurent, Head Teacher at the school, “We are very proud of our students and their efforts. I am particularly proud of Claire. She is a former pupil of mine and, having known her for many years, it is typical of her that she would respond to her condition in this way, with courage and the determination not to let it beat her, while raising awareness to help others.”
For more information about the Dr Hadwen Trust and the Grand Challenge please visit: http://www.drhadwentrust.org/grandchallenge/grand-challenge
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NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT) is the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. Since 1971 the DHT has awarded grants to over 180 non-animal medical research projects including: cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart and liver disease and diabetes.
2. Over the last five years alone the DHT has committed to over £3.8 million worth of animal replacement research projects across the UK at student, PhD and post-doctoral level.
3. The Dr Hadwen Trust continues to be the UK’s leading charity provider of grants solely dedicated to animal replacement medical research.
4. For more information please contact: Dr Kay Miller at [email protected] or 01462 436819