New campaign asks parents to be brain tumour aware

PA 173/11 A new campaign is being launched to help parents and health professionals spot the signs of brain tumours in children and young people. HeadSmart is being piloted in the East Midlands and aims to speed up diagnosis rates and raise awareness of brain tumour symptoms. Pam Hunt from Blaby in Leicestershire visited the doctor several times with her eight-year-old son Ryan before he was diagnosed with a brain tumour after a local optician spotted symptoms during an eye test. Pam said: "I had taken Ryan to the GP because he was suffering from regular headaches. On its own, this symptom might not have indicated a brain tumour, but it was the pattern of this and other symptoms he developed which was important." "Parents and carers should not panic, but they do know their children better than anyone else. If you're concerned then get them seen by a doctor, and take them back if necessary. At best, it will turn out to be nothing, in which case you gain peace of mind — if it is a brain tumour then early diagnosis may save your child's life." Around 500 children and young people a year are diagnosed with a brain tumour — nearly 10 a week — and a quarter of all child cancers occur in the brain.