Sophie’s Wish was formed by the family and friends of Sophie Burchill who was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour when she was just 11 months old.
Throughout the period of her treatment at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which included two lifesaving brain operations and 16 months of chemotherapy, her family and friends discovered that brain tumour research is desperately under-funded compared to other cancers.
Brain tumour research receives just 0.7% of national cancer research spending
Sophie’s Wish is an umbrella group of Brain Tumour Research, a group of 19 brain tumour charities and several other umbrella groups working together across the country to raise desperately needed funds for brain tumour research.
Although Sophie is in good health for the time being, many others have not been so lucky.
During her time in hospital, we were shocked and saddened to discover how common brain tumours are in children and young people. We have witnessed firsthand the effects of this condition and seen many of Sophie’s hospital friends lose their lives to this cancer that can strike so quickly and indiscriminately.
For brain cancer patients, the five year survival rate is just 14%
This is a shocking statistic, which is in our thoughts every day.
Sophie’s Wish aims to raise awareness of brain tumours, their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. We also campaign for and raise much needed funds for further research into brain tumours in order to help improve this desperate survival rate.
