Around 80 people supporting a charity based in Pinner have participated in a London Bridges Walk to help find more effective treatments, and ultimately a cure for brain tumours.
The participants took part in a 10-mile walk that featured some of the biggest landmarks in London and raised £10,000 for The William Low Trust.
William’s family set up the trust after his death in August 2017, just six weeks before his 18th birthday. His death was caused by an aggressive medulloblastoma, the most common high-grade brain tumour in children. He was just five when he was first diagnosed after complaining of head, neck and leg aches that made him sick and tired.
William underwent surgery and gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment which eventually stabilised him. However, at the age of 13, a scan revealed the brain tumour was back and William endured further surgery, chemo and radiotherapy, as well as a stem cell transplant.
Three years later, when new tumours were found in William’s spinal cord, treatment options were severely limited, but his family exhaustively investigated every possible drug trial available in a desperate attempt to find something appropriate. Sadly, nothing was suitable and William tragically passed away.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.
William’s mother Helen said: “We launched The William Low Trust, a Member Charity of Brain Tumour Research, on the second anniversary of losing William, to help bring an end to the devastating impact of brain tumours on patients and their families. We hope that William’s legacy helps to give those diagnosed the opportunity of surviving a brain tumour through and sponsored research and improved treatment.
“We are very grateful to all who joined and sponsored us for the walk which started out on Saturday 15th October from Battersea Park and zig-zagged over a dozen London bridges including Albert, Hungerford, Waterloo, Millennium and Tower Bridge where we finished with a celebration party and raised a glass of fizz to William. There was a great atmosphere and we were thinking of William as we passed a wealth of famous sights while pondering on how we were funding life-changing research with every step.
“Many thanks to our chair, Richard Green, for organising the event.
“Now we’re looking forward to our next fundraiser, a Bollywood night, towards the end of November.”
Sue Farrington Smith MBE, chief executive at Brain Tumour Research said: “William’s story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any age. Just 12% of patients survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.
“We are really grateful to The William Low Trust for its invaluable support of the work being conducted at our Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London to progress research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients who are forced to fight this awful disease.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure.
To make a donation to the William Low Trust go to www.thewilliamlowtrust.co.uk/support-us
The next event for The William Low Trust will be a Bollywood Night at the Langley Suite in Watford on Saturday 26 November. To book tickets go to https://forms.office.com/r/ALWGKruDGa
