Hosts Anna and Andy mark two years since Dr Michele Afif became Chief Executive at The Brain Tumour Charity by asking about her early life, her previous careers in medicine and law - and a few more questions that we crowdsourced from our listeners. 

In response, Michele explains how she's focused The Charity on turning its co-created strategy into a 'strategy in action'. She's honed in on what it needs to deliver, what evidence backs that up and how it can deliver truly transformative results. 

She describes it as asking the question: "How do we push one or two big boulders up the same hill rather than hundreds of boulders up hundreds of hills?"

Michele also talks about her proudest moments, her biggest challenge, The Charity's imminent plans and the advice she'd give her younger self. 

And if you have any questions for Michele or The Charity, you can email [email protected]

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can email [email protected]

In this episode, we'll hear from four of our much-valued Involvement Champions : Rebecca, Oriana, Claire and Mark.

We recorded their presentations to the whole organisation as they explained why they wanted to become key voices in the  brain tumour community.  (Trigger warning, they talk about diagnosis and mental health issues, and their stories are very moving.)

Then our host Anna Blyszko - a former Young Ambassador herself - quizzes The Brain Tumour Charity’s Involvement Manager, Rachel Roberts, about what exactly our Involvement Network aims to achieve and why we've launched a new initiative called The Listening Project.

If you're interested in becoming an Involvement Champion, recruitment for the next cohort begins in late summer 2025. You can find out more here.

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can email [email protected]

After weeks of toil and training, The TCS London Marathon 2025 is just around the corner and The Brain Tumour Charity has 145 runners taking part this year - more than ever before! 

Our Involvement Champion Imelda Turnock speaks to two of them - Barbara Prodger and David Barrow - about their reasons for running.

But first, Andy Tudor gets some insider tips from our man at JustGiving. 

Sam Gurry delves into the data to explain how anyone taking part in a charity challenge can maximise their fundraising. From personalising your story to the optimum number of times to post about your challenge on social media, to gamifying fundraising and incentivising donors - we get the low down.

If listening to this sparks an interest in taking part in one of our events, you can find them all listed here.

Hosts: Andy Tudor and Imelda Turnock.

Audio editors: Jo Porter and Elliot Broad

Producer: Jo Porter

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can email [email protected]

Our focus in this episode is on friendships and close bonds. How does a brain tumour diagnosis affect our loved ones and who can we turn to for support or advice when we don’t want to worry or upset those closest to us?   

To answer that question, Andy Tudor talks to five women who were all treated at the same hospital for the same meningioma diagnosis but who only met through one of The Brain Tumour Charity’s online peer support groups. They describe that group as "invaluable", "a lifeline" and as "each other's aftercare." 

What's more, four of them have teamed up to take on The Twilight Walk together on 22 March - roping in some of their relatives too! Their efforts will mean The Charity can continue to fund things like our support services as well as much needed research into brain tumours. This is the Brighton Brain Aches fundraising page.

We'd also like to the thank the Puzzle Bored Cafe in Brighton for allowing us to record this episode in their Quiet Room. 

Audio Editor: Elliot Broad

Producer: Jo Porter

Contact: [email protected]

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can email [email protected]

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

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can 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.

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can 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]

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can 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 

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can 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]

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can 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.

Better Safe Than Tumour

If you or someone you know needs a listening ear, you can contact our Support Team by calling 0808 800 0004 or by emailing [email protected]

For general information about the podcast, you can email [email protected]