Exeter urged to go bandanas for brain tumours
Individuals, businesses, schools, clubs and organisations in Exeter are being asked to show their support for patients and their families affected by the devastation of a brain tumour diagnosis, by buying and wearing a bandana on 1 March.
The date marks the first ‘Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day’ organised by two leading brain tumour charities, South West based Hammer Out which runs a brain tumour support group in Exeter and The Brain Tumour Charity.
The two charities are launching this major new awareness and fundraising day to help promote the Brain Tumour Awareness Month of March and are hoping that the success of the pilot year will encourage national adoption of the day going forward and involvement from other brain tumour charities as the campaign moves forward.
The charities are asking people to wear a bandana on the day and contribute £1 to support brain tumour charity work. They have also designed their own bandana which can be purchased for £3, allowing even more to be raised for the fight against brain tumours.
Every year some 16,000 people in the UK will be diagnosed with a brain tumour. Brain tumours can affect anyone of any age, regardless of gender, background or lifestyle and are the second most common cause of death from cancer in the under 40’s. Brain tumours are also the most common solid tumour found in children and they have overtaken leukaemia as the biggest killer of children in the UK
For people diagnosed with brain tumours their lives can change overnight. A significant number of brain tumours can now be treated and successfully controlled, but even benign and the less malignant tumours can have life-changing effects, including epilepsy, visual impairment, communication difficulties, motor disability and behavioural changes. Many people find that they are unable to live the lives they had before.
And sadly, although the five year survival rate for many cancers is over 50 per cent, for brain tumours the five year survival rate is just 14 per cent.
The impact is huge on the patient and their families alike and there is a need for both more research into brain tumours and more support for those affected.
South West-based Hammer Out, which offers information and practical and emotional support whilst raising awareness and influencing policy, has teamed up with The Brain Tumour Charity, which funds scientific and clinical research into brain tumours and offers information and support, to launch the new special awareness day.
The two charities, whom have long had an association, are hoping that Bandanas for Brain Tumours will create a new level of awareness and support among the public and raise much needed funds.
Tina Mitchell Skinner, Chief Executive of Hammer Out, who founded the charity ten years ago when she lost her husband Paul to a brain tumour, says: “The number of people affected by a brain tumour – both patients themselves and their families and friends – is sadly ever growing. We are hoping that through the Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day we can raise awareness of how lives change overnight due to diagnosis and raise money to support families with emotional and practical support, local groups and information. We would ask everyone who can to join us.”
Bandanas can be ordered from Hammer Out through their website or by ringing the office. The charity is also making available letters to employers explaining how their teams can get involved and PR support materials to help businesses spread the word of their support. The charities are also hoping for support from well-known celebrities and retailers.
More information on the Bandanas for Brain Tumours Day can be found at www.hammerout.co.uk/bandanas
Anyone who would like to find out more about supporting the day with fundraising events or awareness or who would like more information on the Hammer Out Brain Tumours Exeter Support Group is invited to call 01454 414355.
