INSIDE NUMBER 10

Two women dedicated to campaigning after losing their husbands to brain tumours took our cause to the heart of Government with two visits to Number 10 Downing Street.

Hugh Adams, Head of Stakeholder Relations, said: “Nicki takes every opportunity to fly the flag for the brain tumour cause, whether through campaigning or fundraising. We are so grateful that she also enlisted her MP Holly Mumby-Croft into the brain tumour fold as Holly has become a fantastic advocate for change.

Since losing her husband Dave (known as Did), Nicki Hopkins has campaigned tirelessly alongside Brain Tumour Research for greater investment into funding research to find a cure for the disease.

Nicki, who set up a Fundraising Group called Team Hopkins – Winning for Did which has raised more than £48,000, was nominated by her MP, Holly Mumby-Croft, for an award as a Community Champion. She was invited to a Downing Street reception where she met the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Nicki said: “To be honest, it felt bittersweet as I really don’t like praise. I know Did would be proud of me, but all I want is change to the ridiculous situation that just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours and significantly keep Did’s legacy alive.

“In my head I could hear Did laughing as I made my way to Downing Street. In his words, he would be ‘buzzing’!”

Nicki’s campaigning journey began in 2020 after Did was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM). Struggling to come to terms with her husband’s diagnosis, Nicki reached out to her MP to expose the chronic underfunding of brain tumour research, which led Holly to raise the couple’s case during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Holly has since become a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT) and contributed to the Westminster debate held during Brain Tumour Awareness Month.

Main image: Holly, Nicki and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (credit: 10 Downing Street)

Inset: Nicki at Westminster. Did with his family

“Campaigners like Nicki are vital in supporting the work that we do to influence the Government and larger charities to invest more nationally in research to find a cure. They are helping us make the difference that patients now and those in the future so desperately need and deserve.”

As a member of One Cancer Voice – a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities – Brain Tumour Research attended the hand-in of the One Cancer Voice petition, demanding action to tackle Britain’s cancer crisis.

Our campaigner Uzmah Yunis, who lost her husband Laurent Viteau in August 2021 to a GBM, was one of three charity campaigners to present the 80,000-name petition to Number 10 on Wednesday 22nd March.

As well as Uzmah, the Chair of the APPGBT Derek Thomas MP and APPBGT stalwart Hilary Benn MP represented our brain tumour community at the Number 10 hand-in. As Derek said: “We need the Government to make sure people who have cancer also have hope.”

Read our campaigning blog for all the latest updates: www.braintumourresearch.org/media/our-blog