National Lottery accolade for HeadSmart brain tumour campaign

HeadSmart-PR
06 Sep 2017 09:27:03.903

PA  /17

HeadSmart – the highly successful campaign pioneered by the University of Nottingam’s Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre to speed up diagnosis of childhood brain tumours – has been voted the UK’s favourite health project funded by the National Lottery. 

HeadSmart is based on research into the most commonly-presented symptoms of childhood brain tumours, carried out by the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre and is a partnership between the Centre, the Brain Tumour Charity and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. 

Since the campaign’s launch in 2011, the average diagnosis time for brain tumours in children has been cut from 14 weeks to under six weeks, saving lives and helping to minimise brain damage from treatment.

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HeadSmart beat off competition from 1,300 entries nationally to win a £5,000 cash prize and will have its impactful work showcased in a special report on the BBC One Show on 27th September 2017. 

‘Saturdays’ superstar singer Rochelle Humes presented HeadSmart representatives with the award and said: “HeadSmart is a truly fantastic charity that has really made a difference in helping to reduce the diagnosis time of brain tumours in the young, which has had lifesaving consequences. My children are my world and their health is an absolute priority. This campaign is a real asset to parents everywhere to help them spot the early signs of serious illness.” 

Professor David Walker from the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre said: “This award, voted for by the public, is testament to the huge impact that our work on HeadSmart campaign has achieved nationally and internationally. We are eternally grateful to the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) and in particular the clinical champions who have tirelessly collected national data on times to diagnosis enabling us to measure the impact of HeadSmart.

"Parents and medical professionals are now much more aware of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours in children and young people and earlier treatment is making a real difference to outcomes of this the largest cancer killer of people under the age of 40.” 

Hayley Epps, from The Brain Tumour Charity added: “This National Lottery award means so much to us as a charity, and the money will help us continue to drive down diagnosis time and save lives.” 

The winners of the National Lottery Awards are decided by the public - 7345 people voted for HeadSmart to win Best Health project. 

National Lottery players raise £30 million a week for arts, sport, heritage and community good causes.

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Notes to editors: 

The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.

Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…

 

 

Story credits

More information is available from Professor David Walker, Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences on +44 (0)115 823 0632 david.walker@nottingham.ac.uk
 

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