Brain Tumour Support NZ Launches “No Going Back” Campaign For Brain Tumour Awareness Month

Brain Tumour Support NZ has launched a new fundraising
platform “No Going Back” to mark the start of their
Brain Tumour Awareness Month campaign – Make May
Matter.

“A brain tumour diagnosis brings fear
and uncertainty. Your life changes from that moment and
there is no going back. It is that very notion which forms
the concept of our fundraising campaign,” said Sarah
Verran, CEO of Brain Tumour Support NZ.

“We’re
inviting New Zealanders to show their support for people
with brain tumours and their families by embarking on a
personal fundraising challenge,” explains Sarah. “It
could be a run, a walk, a swim or a sky dive – anything
which presents a challenge. Other fundraisers like morning
teas, movie nights or work team fundraisers are also
welcome. The options are endless. Once you’ve signed up
for your challenge, there’s no going back,” she
said.

Sarah knows firsthand the devastating impact a
brain tumour has on the whole family – her daughter was
diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in 2015. “We were
thrust into months and years of surgeries and treatments
with often overwhelming information coming from all sides,
and really no time to process it all amongst the grief and
the reality of our new normal. Brain Tumour Support NZ did
not exist when we began our brain tumour journey and I wish
that we had had this support back then,” said
Sarah.

People wanting to show their support can start
their own No Going Back fundraiser or donate to an existing
fundraiser by visiting nogoingback.nz. The funds
raised will go towards the charity’s patient and caregiver
support programmes, including their Brain Box care packages
which are sent free to anyone in Aotearoa who is diagnosed
with a brain tumour.

Inside every Brain Box is a set
of Patient Guides and a wonderful array of wellness goodies
and gifts, including a Brainy Beanie.

“May is
also the month where our famed Brainy Beanies make a
comeback in time for the winter,” explains Sarah
Verran.

“Brainy Beanies are unique creations
beautifully handcrafted and donated to Brain Tumour Support
NZ. A call for creators in April has been hugely successful
with beanies arriving from all around the country, each one
beautifully handmade by someone who cares. We sell these on
our website and this year we are taking Brainy Beanies to
Fieldays at Mystery Creek where they will be on display and
for sale,” Sarah said.

Make May Matter for Brain
Tumour Awareness runs throughout the month of May. To make a
donation, start a fundraiser or buy a Brainy Beanie, visit
www.braintumoursupport.org.nz.

ABOUT BRAIN
TUMOURS

• Around 350 New Zealanders are diagnosed
  with a primary brain tumour each year, 1.4% of all cancers
  diagnosed in New Zealand. Many more are diagnosed with
  secondary, or metastatic, brain tumours (cancers which have
  spread to the brain from elsewhere in the
  body).
• Around 260 New Zealanders die each year from
  brain cancer, the 10th most fatal cancer.
• Brain
  cancer is the biggest cancer killer of children in New
  Zealand, being responsible for 42% of all childhood cancer
  deaths (almost double that of leukaemia).
• Survival
  rates for brain cancer have not improved significantly in
  the last 30 years. The 5 year survival rate for
  glioblastoma, the most common type of brain cancer in
  adults, is just 5%.
• Brain tumours can affect anyone,
  of any ethnicity, and at any age. The causes of most brain
  tumours are unknown so prevention and screening are not
  possible.

ABOUT BRAIN TUMOUR SUPPORT
NZ

Brain Tumour Support NZ is a registered charity
formed in 2019 to provide much needed support, information
and advocacy to brain tumour patients in New Zealand. Our
Vision is that people affected by a brain tumour feel less
afraid, less alone and more
empowered.

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