Leeds brain tumour charity receives National Lottery funding boost

Supporters and staff at a Leeds charity which works to support brain tumour patients and their families is celebrating after receiving a major funding boost.
Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity has awarded almost £69,000 from the National Lottery's Community Fund.Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity has awarded almost £69,000 from the National Lottery's Community Fund.
Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity has awarded almost £69,000 from the National Lottery's Community Fund.

Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity has awarded almost £69,000 from the National Lottery's Community Fund.

The Headingley-based charity will use the windfall to grow its support offering across Yorkshire, making it easier for anyone affected by a brain tumour to access services in their local area.

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More in-person support will be offered locally to brain tumour patients of all ages and backgrounds, as well as their carers and relatives and those who have sadly lost loved ones to a brain tumour.

Around 1,000 new cases of primary brain tumours are diagnosed in Yorkshire and the Humber every year.

Roughly 10 per cent of these people are under 18 and, of all cancers, brain tumours are the biggest killer of people under 40 in the UK. Lack of research spend means survival rates have not improved in 40 years.

Currently, along with funding research, the charity offers support groups and counselling sessions both online and in Leeds city centre, as well as an online group for South Yorkshire residents and a dedicated telephone and email support line.

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Over the first year of the project, the charity aims to double the number of people accessing its support in five key areas: Wakefield, Kirklees, Calderdale, Sheffield and Hull. This means that, with the help of the National Lottery Community Fund, an extra 150 individuals will be able to access support in 2021/22.

The charity will also introduce new community support groups, doubling the total available from 21 to 42 sessions, and double the number of specialist counselling sessions run throughout the year to a total of 228.

There will also be three new face-to-face family network events and 25 extra members of the Patient Advisory Group, which gives patients and their loved ones a chance to offer feedback on the charity’s services. In addition, the fund will enable the charity to train an extra 10 volunteers for its “Check In and Chat” peer support scheme.

Marie Peacock, CEO of Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity, said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to enrich the support available to people affected by a brain tumour in their own communities. This is so important because a brain tumour diagnosis is so isolating for patients and their loved ones. We want to ensure everyone has access to the support they need where they live.”

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Currently in its 18th year, the charity has so far raised over £3,750,000 towards making brain tumours a thing of the past and improving quality of life for patients, carers and families.

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