The Wheatsheaf to support The Brain Tumour Charity

Councillor Richard Farnell, Kerry Roe-Ely, Debbie Hernon and Mayor Ray Dutton

Brain tumours are one of Britain’s major cancer killers, and The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre is supporting and raising funds for The Brain Tumour Charity.

The Centre has launched its own Honesty Library in conjunction with World Book Day and Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Shoppers will be encouraged to pass on the story and kindly donate any unused books in the book bins on the Centre’s Mall area. The library will consist of a welcoming atmosphere and comfortable sofas for shoppers to take a break and indulge in a new book while leaving a small donation to The Brain Tumour Charity.

The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre is supporting the cause as there has been a number of high profile of cases throughout the borough of Rochdale, cases such as local businessman Ken Russ, who died in 2015 after a tough battle with a grade four glioblastoma brain tumours. The charity dedicates themselves to people like Ken and provide practical support and information to the victim, their family and friends, as well as aiming to reduce diagnosis times and excellent research.

Debbie Hernon, The Wheatsheaf’s Centre Manager, said: “The team at The Wheatsheaf are extremely proud to be working in conjunction with The Brain Tumour Charity and hope to raise exceptional amounts of awareness for the importance of what they do.

"The Centre will also be hosting various fun events, competitions and the opening of our Honesty Library with the aim to raise funds for the commendable cause.”

Geraldine Pipping, The Brain Tumour Charity’s Director of Fundraising, said: “We are so grateful to everyone at The Wheatsheaf for their support.

“We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations, so it’s only through the efforts of The Wheatsheaf and others like them that we can work towards our twin goals of doubling survival and halving the harm caused by brain tumours.”

“Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and people under 40 in the UK and survival rates have not improved significantly over the last 40 years. “

“We are leading the way in changing this, fighting brain tumours on all fronts by funding world-class research as well as offering support and information.”

Every day 30 people in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour. Brain tumours are the leading cancer killer for children and people under the age of 40, yet less than 2% of the £500 million spent on cancer research funding in the UK annually is spent on brain tumours.

The Brain Tumour Charity is at the forefront of the fight to defeat brain tumours, making a difference every day to the lives of people with a brain tumour and their families. It funds pioneering research to increase survival, raises awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours and provides support for everyone affected. The charity’s goals are to double survival within 10 years in the U.K and to halve the negative impact that brain tumours have on quality of life.