September is a big month for Larsen's Pride.

Every year, we remember and celebrate Larsens birthday with our Big Cat Drop Off, delivering beautiful Jellycat big cats - like the one in the picture - to hospitals where children are diagnosed and treated for brain tumours. This year, our amazing fundraisers have helped us to almost quadruple the amount of big cats we donate to 150 children at three different centres: Nottingham Childrens Hospital, UCLH and The Noah's Ark Childrens Hospital in Cardiff. You are all amazing- thank you!

These soft toys brought Larsen so much comfort during his treatment and we are proud to be able to share this little part of him with many more children. However, more than 500 children will be diagnosed with a brain tumour in the UK in the next 12 months and we are determined to reach many more of these as we grow.

September is also #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth and our charitable aim to improve the lives of children with brain tumours means that we do much more than deliver these beautiful toys. In 2022/23, we are working with health care professionals on the paediatric radiotherapy pathway to increase dialogue and opportunites for children with brain tumours to access radiotherapy without a general anaesthetic. The benefits of awake radiotherapy include being able to return to school, to spend considerably less time in hospital, to avoid the needles and invasive procedures that they have to submit to during surgery and chemotherapy, to have time to play and be with friends and family. Larsen was just 4 years old when he had awake radiotherapy and we are so grateful for the extra time this gave us with him. When prognosis is often so poor for children with brain tumours, we want families and professionals to know the real human impact that awake radiotherapy can have on children and families.

Finally, we believe that an awareness of the reality of paediatric brain tumours is key to improving the lives of children who are diagnosed. Over 500 children will be diagnosed this year in the UK and whilst survival rate for most childhood cancers sits around 80%, for brain tumours, this is less than 20%. Treatment options can be very cruel, with many drugs developed for adults and not for growing children, and with little progress since the 1960s. Treatment is harsh and options are limited. Raising awareness of the dire starting point for children with brain tumours is the first step to improving outcomes.