A warm welcome to Let's Talk About Brain Tumours!

After a break since the summer, we're back to bring you interesting and informative conversations with members of the brain tumour community and at The Brain Tumour Charity.

A new production team is now at the helm, so bear with us while we learn the ropes of podcast production. But we're delighted that our volunteer co-hosts remain unchanged: Anna Blyszko, Chandos Green and Andy Tudor.

"On the cusp of change...!" today, Anna and Chandos quiz Anna Jewell and Cameron Miller about how the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce was set up, what it's achieved and what its latest campaign is about. Then, Andy meets Frankie Davies whose mum Sue's story throws that campaign into sharp relief.

Many thanks to all our guests for taking part in this recording.

Further information

• Frankie mentions online support groups and you can find out about these here 
• To find out more about the campaign go here or search the hashtags #LessSurvivableCancersAwarenessWeek #CloseTheDeadlyCancerGap on social media
• If you have any questions about this episode or want to find out more about this podcast, you can email the team at: [email protected] 

Producer: Jo Porter
Audio editor: Elliot Broad

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

Anna talks to Anna Solth and Victoria Wyes about their experiences of being neurosurgeons and women in the field of neuroscience.  They share their passion for neuroscience, discuss the work they are doing now and their plans for the future.

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

We meet Gavin Burden and Louise Worthington who have both been diagnosed with brain tumours. Gavin has been living with his brain tumour since he was 21 - for 28 years. Gavin and Louise have been friends for a long time so when Louise was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2018 Gavin contacted her to offer support.
In the episode, they share the difficulties of living with hidden disabilities as Gavin has since lost 75% of his vision.

Despite these challenges, they have decided to celebrate Gavin turning 50 by taking on a 25km challenge! You can find out more about Gavin and Louise here
If you want to get involved in their challenge you can email them at: [email protected]

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

Today, Chandos talks to Support Manager Beth Ryall, about the support available at The Brain Tumour Charity for people who are experiencing difficulties with their mental health following a brain tumour diagnosis.

You can find out more about this here 

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

Anya Jones and Kaz Melvin about their experiences of rehabilitation. Anya needed extensive rehabilitation after her diagnosis and treatment while Kaz has both personal and professional experience of brain tumours and rehab. She is a physiotherapist and she supported her sister Ria who sadly died from a glioblastoma in 2021.

Anya and Kaz have worked with The Charity to create some resources to help people understand the sort of rehab that's available and how it can help them.  You can find out more here

If you would like to be involved in the work Kaz and Anya are doing, email  [email protected]

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

Chandos talks to one of our Future Leaders: Dr Angel Alvarez-Prado. Angel is a highly accomplished researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland where he is currently working on an innovative project to simultaneously target both cancer cells and their supporting immune microenvironment in the hope of finding more effective treatments for glioblastomas. Angel explains what his research involves and how it may help people diagnosed with glioblastoma in the future.

You can read more about Angel and his research here
Find out more about the research The Brain Tumour Charity funds here

You can contact our Research team by emailing  [email protected] or phoning 01252 418190.

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

When Alex - also known as the performer Syren - was diagnosed with a rare paediatric brain tumour called DLGNT at the age of 20, his family found that there were limited treatment options.

His mum, Katie, did her own research into how to best help Alex and found  out about the Everest Centre.  In February 2024, His dad Martin and three of his friends took on the Everest in the Alps challenge to raise £500,000 to go towards research into paediatric brain tumours.

You can follow Alex AKA Syren on Spotify here

Find out more about The Everest Centre here

Find out more about the Everest In The Alps Challenge Martin is doing here and follow Team Syren on Instagram @everestinthealpssyren

You can donate using the links below at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/Syren 

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

We talk to Liam Young about how physical fitness contributed to his recovery from treatment for a brain tumour. Liam found that the traditional route of counselling wasn't for him. His perfect form of therapy was with a personal trainer.

At 25 he had never prioritised his health, but after his diagnosis Liam realised how important it was and that led to him embarking on a fitness program which he says helped him to deal with the mental and emotional trauma of his diagnosis.

To find out more about how a brain tumour diagnosis can affect your mental health and the support available, take a look at our website

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

In this episode we talk to Bethan and Gbenga Adelekan who's son Ravi was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was just 6 years old.  Despite this Ravi, now 8 has not let this stop him from using his experience to help others and also to continue to follow his own dreams!

After his diagnosis and surgery, Ravi decided that he want to do something that would help other children like him and one day help find a way to stop any other child going through what he had gone through so with the help of his parents they created Ravi's Dream.

You can find out more about Ravi's Dream here

You can follow Ravi's story on instragram @ravis_dream

You can also find out more about our Children and Families Service on our website here

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If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]

In this episode Anna and Chandos talk to Ben Rimmer, a research assistant at Newcastle University and the work they are doing on the quality of life of people diagnosed with low grade glioma's.  The Ways Ahead research project aims to understand more about the lived experience of people with low grade gliomas and how to improve their quality of life. 

You can find out more about the Ways Ahead Research here

You can find out more about the research that The Brain Tumour Charity fund here:

Research into Adult Brain Tumours

Research into Childhood Brain Tumours

If you would lke to make a donation to enable us to continue to fund research into brain tumours you can find ways to donate here

You can vist our website here

Better Safe Than Tumour

Money Advice Clinic

If you would like to speak to a member of our support team you can call 0808 800 0004 or email [email protected]