Brain Tumour Support has launched its "Stars for Support" Christmas campaign with the aim of raising funds to enable the charity to help more families affected by a brain tumour diagnosis.

Volunteers across the country have been knitting beautiful sparkly stars for the appeal. Every time someone sponsors or buys a star, one of these lovely Stars for Support will be hung on a Christmas tree in the charity's head office in Thornbury. These stars can be dedicated in the name of someone affected by a brain tumour diagnosis.

"Whether in support or celebration, in memory or in tribute, it is a simple and personal gesture which will also help us to help others," said Tina Mitchell Skinner, founder and CEO of Brain Tumour Support. "There are more than 100,000 people in the UK living with a brain tumour. We currently support more than 2,000 of these and we urgently need to help more brain tumour patients and their families."

by Rosemary Wormington
Head of Support, Brain Tumour Support
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This month, The Christie in Manchester has been gearing up to receive the first brain tumour patients to be offered proton beam therapy treatment in the UK.

Up until now those patients meeting the necessary criteria for proton beam therapy would have been sent to hospitals in either Germany or America. 

As Brain Tumour Support expands, the charity has recruited three new Brain Tumour Support Workers and a regional Volunteer Coordinator.  

"We wholeheartedly welcome Sarah Erskine, Jayne Hodges, Trish Moroney and Narinder Gill to our team," said Tina Mitchell Skinner, CEO and Founder of Brain Tumour Support. "It is always so exciting to have new members of our team, with each one bringing new perspectives, different skills and fresh ideas to our growing organisation."

by Tina Mitchell Skinner
Founder and CEO, Brain Tumour Support

Last week was Remember a Charity Week and it brought to mind when my husband and I discussed our wills. We were both only 35 years old and had just been told he had a brain tumour.

I realised very quickly that there were so many extra things to consider alongside his surgery and oncology care. It felt as if the emotional side to his illness was something I had to deal with alone, and then of course there were the practical issues of a life ahead as a widow. As the months went by and the realisation dawned that his life was being cut short, we knew we would have to have some difficult conversations.
 
How was I going to cope financially, practically, emotionally and with a five-year-old son, who was too young to comprehend the enormity of what was soon to happen in our world? 

It's 'Remember A Charity' Week and we are joining forces with 200 other charities up and down the UK to launch Human – the world’s first charity-powered search engine.

Hundreds of charities have come together to encourage people to leave charitable gifts in wills and, by doing so, pass on something wonderful to the next generation.

Find out more about how leaving a gift in your will can make a real difference to a charity like Brain Tumour Support.

Brain Tumour Support is looking for volunteers who can knit or crochet these lovely stars for our Christmas Appeal.

We have packs ready to send out which contain everything you need to knit or crochet five stars, including sparkly wool and a pattern.

Please contact Jo Long for more information or to request a pack (jo@braintumoursupport.co.uk or 01454 422705)

If you live near our headquarters in Thornbury, packs are also available from the Woolstop shop on Thornbury High Street.

The 2nd Hilly Helmet Challenge saw more than 120 runners take on a 4-mile hilly run wearing the most amazing helmets.

The event is the inspiration of Robin-Mark Schols who, following complications from brain tumour surgery, had to have a piece of skull removed. Until the hole in his skull could be repaired with a titanium plate, Robin had to wear a helmet everywhere he went, even on his runs.

This year's Hilly Helmet Challenge raised an amazing £2,600.

"We want to thank everyone who took part and also the wonderful sponsors without whom this event could not have taken place," said Nadya Anscombe, PR and Communications Manager at Brain Tumour Support. "The total value of all the raffle prizes and costs that the sponsors donated came to £1,400. Thank you to each and every one of you!"

by Tina Mitchell Skinner
Founder and CEO, Brain Tumour Support

Yesterday I was at the last meeting for the 2017/18 parliamentary year of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT).

And what a year it’s been.

I don’t think that in my 15 years of working in the charity sector in this field there has ever been a year that has created such momentum and awareness of brain tumours. After years of campaigning in order to get politicians, clinicians and funders to sit up and take notice of this under-funded and under-supported disease, we finally seem to be getting somewhere.

​We have an amazing family of volunteers and in the last twelve months they have saved us a staggering £41,517.33 based on the average salary of equivalent paid roles - support workers, office assistants and event assistants. This figure doesn’t take into account types of volunteering harder to quantify in hours and cash such as knitting, attendance at focus groups and the work done by the trustees.

We are so grateful to each and every one of you for everything you do for us. We couldn't do what we do without you!

If you would like to join our family of volunteers across the country, please contact volunteer@braintumoursupport.co.uk or call on 01454 414355

Tina Mitchell Skinner, founder and CEO of the charity Brain Tumour Support, has welcomed the new guidelines for the management of primary and secondary brain tumours and brain metastases published today by NICE.
 
“The revised guidelines feature guidance for clinicians about documenting discussions with patients and carers with respect to health and social care support,” said Ms Mitchell Skinner. “They recommend that there should be a record of psychological, cognitive, physical, spiritual and emotional issues. This is extremely important for the people we support.”
 
“At Brain Tumour Support, we see on a daily basis the complex and profound impact that a brain tumour, benign or malignant, can have on the lives of not only the patients but also their loved ones. It is so important that clinicians recognise and document this so that everyone can see the most up-to-date information and the relevant options available, enabling patients to receive the best care.”
 
“However, ideally we would like to see these guidelines go one step further and follow through to primary care. Therefore, as a patient-focused charity, we will continue to look at how we can develop our services and assist our families to make better decisions about their treatment and care in accordance with the new NICE guidance.”