Brighton family helping us to make ultra-rapid brain tumour testing a reality

Alex, together with her son Miles, set up the charity Charlotte’s BAG (Battle Against Glioblastoma) after Charlotte, Alex’s daughter and Miles’ sister, passed away from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2016, aged 19.

Since then they have raised nearly £328,000.00 to help our neurological cancer lab at Kings (which has been renamed Charlotte’s Lab in her honour) to establish a new type of genetic testing called micro-array testing, which has since become available on the NHS.

Charlotte was 16 when she was diagnosed with a grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma.

Two years later this mutated to a grade 4 glioblastoma, a fast-growing terminal form of brain cancer. During her illness, Charlotte fought to raise awareness of cancer in young people and kept a video blog to document her life with the condition.

Charlotte was a regular guest on the BBC Breakfast sofa where she helped to raise awareness of brain tumours.

The BBC recently joined Alex and Miles in a visit to meet the laboratory team at Kings to see for themselves the difference the money has made. The team is enormously grateful for the contributions from Charlotte’s BAG, without which these scientific developments may not have happened.

You can watch Charlotte’s personal accounts on her YouTube which her family continue to maintain.

Alex and Miles are determined to raise more funds. Their latest fundraising efforts will see them walk 153km in just 6 days. Sponsor them here.