Cranfield postie and brain tumour patient sponsors days of research at centre where groundbreaking study is bringing hope

Postman Matt Shanley who has had to reduce his working hours due to his ill health, has supported the charity Brain Tumour Research since his diagnosis with a rare subependymoma in 2018, aged 44.

On 11 June, Matt and his wife Julie, who works in the Thames Valley Police control room, were invited to the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London to find out how their fundraising is helping support scientists leading the way in research into aggressive brain tumours. These include glioblastoma, the most common high-grade brain tumour among adults with an average survival prognosis of 12 to 18 months.

The funding will also enable scientists to continue to develop gentler, more effective therapies for ependymoma and childhood brain tumours, including medulloblastoma and diffuse midline glioma (commonly known as DIPG), for which current treatments are gruelling and can cause lifelong side effects and disabilities.

Matt was originally diagnosed with vertigo seven years before learning he had a brain tumour. His family now thinks he was suffering mild seizures during that time. Matt underwent brain surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge to save his life, but it left him sight-impaired and with other life-changing conditions including fatigue, memory problems, left-sided weakness and debilitating seizures.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, more women under 35 than breast cancer and more men under 70 than prostate cancer.

As well as touring the labs and talking to scientists about their pioneering work in the fight to find a cure, Matt and Julie placed four tiles on the Wall of Hope to signify the equivalent of the four days of research they are sponsoring. They also listened to presentations from Dr Tom Millner and Dr Sara Badodi about the work going on at Queen Mary into glioblastoma and paediatric brain tumours. This included details about a groundbreaking study announced last month, bringing hope for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. This pioneering new technique, mimicking the human treatment process in implanted human glioblastoma models, has been able to accurately replicate how glioblastoma tumours recur and evolve after treatment.

Lead Investigator and Director of the Centre, Professor Silvia Marino said: “This innovative approach not only furthers our understanding of the biology of glioblastoma recurrence but also opens the door to personalised medicine. By analysing the genetic and molecular changes in the recurrent tumours, researchers may be able to identify patient-specific vulnerabilities. This means that in the future, treatments could be tailored to the unique characteristics of each patient's recurrent tumour, improving the chances of successful treatments when first-line therapy has failed.”

Earlier this year in March, Brain Tumour Awareness Month, Brain Tumour Research announced a £2.5m funding boost for Queen Mary as the charity celebrated 15 years of research with the publication of its Impact Report, called Closer to a Cure – 15 years of Impact, detailing the game-changing advances the charity has achieved in this time.

Julie said: “When Matt was diagnosed with a brain tumour, we were both shocked to discover the stats about brain tumours and how low funding into research actually is.

“People often say how well Matt looks, but they don’t know what he has to contend with, having lost his driving licence and therefore his independence when he became partially sighted.”

The couple, along with family and friends, has raised more than £13,000 through a variety of fundraisers, including a footie-themed Walk of Hope on the fourth anniversary of Matt’s surgery in 2022, which saw the couple and their son Harry walk 47 miles from Cranfield United Football Club to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over two days.

Julie added: “Raising money for Brain Tumour Research is important to us because of everything Matt’s been through. We know how serious the effects of this type of surgery can be and can’t understand what little research funding it gets – it seems so unfair.

“It was emotional seeing the four tiles dedicated to Matt on the Wall of Hope. The side effects of his brain tumour will stay with him for the rest of his life – so much funding seems to go into researching other forms of cancer, while brain tumours lag so far behind.”

Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are grateful to Matt and Julie for their amazing contribution towards funding the research at Queen Mary University of London. The team of scientists there is carrying out game-changing research which we are hopeful will lead to significant improvements in the care brain tumour patients receive and ultimately, find a cure for brain tumours.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and 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. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To find out more about sponsoring a day of research, go to www.braintumourresearch.org/fundraise/sponsor-a-day.