Over 9,100 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour each year. As many brain tumours are not recorded, that figure could be much higher in reality. That's 25 people every single day. Over 500 of these are children and young people. 25% of these will die - one child every three days.

As I'm sure most of you know, back in 2012 I was one of the 9,100 people that year to be diagnosed with a brain tumour. Since then I have had several extensive surgeries and radio-surgeries to remove it. One of the operations left me with a left sided facial weakness and in October 2014 I went under the knife again to have nerve graft surgery. This will hopefully go some way to correct the weakness. 

I have volunteered with several charities over the years, and since my diagnosis I have always hoped to get involved with a charity who work directly in the fight against brain tumours. After much research I discovered the excellent work that The Brain Tumour Charity do, and also the extent of the problem which they are leading the fight against. It was as I was laid in hospital recently, that I decided I would set a challenge for myself to raise vital funds and awareness for the cause. The initial plan was to trek to Everest Base Camp, but unfortunately after the recent disaster in Nepal this was no longer possible. Instead I've decided on an equally challenging expedition up to the top of Mount Killiamjaro. I'm sure that this gruelling 10 day trek to the summit of the highest freestanding mountain on earth, at a dizzying height 5895m altitude  will more than stretch my physical as well as my mental stamina. However I am looking forward to the challenge, and together with your help, we can fund more life saving research to improve the prospects for people with brain tumours. Not to mention help the charity to continue to provide information and support for thousands of people who are affected by brain tumours and also help them raise awareness.

As the UK's leading brain tumour charity and largest dedicated funder of brain tumour research, The Brain Tumour Charity are committed to changing these statistics to improve life chances for people diagnosed with brain tumours, now and in the future. The pioneering, peer reviewed research they fund, is leading to real breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. Amongst other achievements, they have already helped to reduce diagnosis times from 14.5 to 7 weeks, however more needs to be done. 

The charity does not receive any government or statutory funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations to fund their vital work, which is why it is even more important that they receive our help. No matter how small or large your sponsorships are, every single penny counts and really will help to save lives. 

Furthermore, I am funding the trip myself. Meaning that all of your donations will be received by the charity to enable them to continue their fight against the devastating illness. 

And in case you were left in any doubt at all, The Brain Tumour Charity are members of the FundRaising Standards Board and also the Association of Medical Research Charities and adhere to their strict code of practice. And on top of that, the BTC are a lean, efficient and effective charity with 80% of funds raised going directly to the charitable aims. This is considerably more than the average charity who spend around 50% on their charities aims. 

My full story can be read on The Brain Tumour Charity's website...

Cheers 

Jonny 

Xxx

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