Sian Holt from Wokingham is set to abseil over 300 feet down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth in aid of her favourite charity. Sian, with family members Debbie Mckenzie and Alex Holt, will undertake her gravity defying challenge on 10 July.

Sian is doing this on behalf of the Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT), the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. Said Sian, “I have supported the Dr Hadwen Trust for a couple of years. I am a veterinary nurse and I have lost family members to cancer so I feel passionately about advancing medical research while helping animals.”

“While I am a little nervous about abseiling down the tower I am quite excited. Deb and Alex, bless them, are more nervous so it says a lot for them that they are willing to give it a go.”

Sian is almost half way to her fundraising target already and donations can be made through her Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Sian-Deb-Alex

The money raised will contribute towards the Dr Hadwen Trust’s ‘Grand Challenge’ whereby the charity hopes to raise £180K to fund a three year brain tumour research project at the University of Portsmouth. The project, involving research into the blood-brain barrier (B-BB), will be conducted by Geoffrey Pilkington, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Neuro-oncology at the University of Portsmouth. Professor Pilkington is an acknowledged international expert on brain tumours and a pioneer in B-BB modelling.

The B-BB protects the brain from toxins in the blood, but this can also hinder brain tumour therapy. Many treatments, like chemotherapy, are delivered through the bloodstream and so it is difficult to combat brain tumours. Brain tumours are therefore one of the most inaccessible tumours and it is vital to investigate specific new ways to deliver treatments.

Said Dr Kay Miller, Group Head of Operations at the Dr Hadwen Trust, “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet brain tumour research receives just 1% of the national spend on cancer research. In addition, unlike many other cancers, brain tumour research does not benefit from general research. We think that this is unacceptable.”

“We are extremely grateful to Sian, Deb and Alex for undertaking this extraordinarily brave fundraising effort and thereby helping address a seriously underfunded area of cancer research.”

For more information about the Dr Hadwen Trust and the charity’s ‘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 £3.5 million worth of animal replacement research projects across the UK at student, PhD and post-doctoral level.
3. For more information please contact: Dr Kay Miller at [email protected] or 01462 436819