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,” says Brain Tumour Support NZ CEO Sarah Verran.

“We’re inviting New Zealanders to show their support for people with brain tumours and their families by embarking on a personal fundraising challenge.

“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."

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,” says 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,” says Sarah..

“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."

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 per cent 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 per cent 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 per cemt.
• 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.