Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I have decided to try to overcome my fear of heights while raising much needed money for a good cause by doing a tandem skydive, with all proceeds going to Brain Tumour Research. I have chosen this charity in support of my best mate who was diagnosed with a grade 4 brain tumour in July 2011 at the age of just 36. He was given a 5% chance of surviving 18 months and sadly passed away on 30/03/14. I am also a home carer and have recently lost a client to an inoperable brain tumour. Another of my clients, who I've spent many hours looking after, also passed away on the same day as my best mate, again, due to a brain tumour. Research offers the only real hope in the dramatic improvements in the diagnosis, treatment and management of brain tumours. Each year, over £500 million is spent on cancer research in the UK, yet less than 1% is spent on brain tumours.  I have also listed a few other statistics about brain tumours.

• Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.
• Over 9,100 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour each year. As many tumours are not recorded, it is thought this figure could be much higher.
• Over 500 of these are children and young people. 25% of these will die, one child every three days.
• Almost 5,000 people lose their lives to a brain tumour every year.
• Cancers which begin in another part of the body which go on to result in a tumour in the brain (secondry brain tumours) are estimated to outnumber  primary brain tumours at a rate of 3:1.
• Brain tumours reduce life expectancy by, on average, 20 years, the highest of any cancer.
• Just 14% of adults survive for 5 years after diagnosis.
• Brain tumours are the largest cause of preventable or treatable blindness in children.
• Childhood brain tumours survivors are 10 times more likely to suffer long term disability than well children. This accounts for 20,000 additional disabled life years for all the children diagnosed each year. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.