Both James and I (team 10T) have decided to run the 2019 London Marathon in memory of our parents Alison and Neil Tuttiett who both tragically passed away from Brain Tumours.

Whilst Over 9,300 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year it is incredibly rare for individuals to be diagnosed with a Grade 4 Glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are the most aggressive and incurable form of brain tumour they account for 0.0034% of all cancers detected so to have both parents die from the same cancer is unbelievably unlucky. Circa Odds of 0.00001156%  . The average survival time is 12-18 months and only 25% ofglioblastoma patients survive more than one year, and only 5% of patients survive more than five years. James and I want to honour both of our parents by raising money for more research into Brain Tumour Research.

Here is a little bit more information about why we are running.

Both of our parents were born and raised in Bristol (Kingswood and Longwell green respectively) whilst Esme and I grew up in Clevedon. Our mother (Alison) passed away from a brain tumour when she was 42. She was a local Dietician at Southmead Hospital and passed away less than 5 months after being diagnosed with a glioblastoma.

In 2017 our father (Neil) was diagnosed with the same type of aggressive brain tumour and died 6 weeks later. Both Esme and I have been training in a unique way for this marathon pushing each other on to achieve the best result.  James is based in Hong Kong and travels often for work so he has been doing training runs in Singapore, Shanghai and Sydney. I am studying for my PhD in Nutrition at Sheffield university so has a more traditional training regime in the peak district.

We are determined to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic charity. Some information can be found below.

Over 9,300 people are diagnosed with a brain tumour each year and brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, yet less than 2% of cancer research funding goes on brain tumours in the UK. The Brain Tumour Charity is determined to change these shocking statistics and is committed to investing £25million into world-class, pioneering research over the next five years. The Charity offers a comprehensive service to enable everyone with a brain tumour, their families and carers to receive the best support and information and achieve the highest quality of life possible, as well as raising awareness of brain tumours to improve life chances and reduce diagnosis times. Geraldine Pipping, The Charity’s Head of Fundraising, said: “We are extremely grateful for all the efforts made by our fantastic fundraisers and wish them all the very best. Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years. We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work. We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of volunteers that we can change these shocking statistics in the future and bring hope to the thousands of people who are diagnosed with a brain tumour every year.”