Organised by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, the drop-in event saw 57 parliamentarians attend from across the political divide, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, Shadow Health Minister Barbara Keeley, James Brokenshire MP (pictured) and Stuart McDonald, a member of the Scottish National Party’s front bench.
Hannah talked about her own experience of being diagnosed with a grade 4 aggressive glioma when aged 15, as well as her efforts to raise awareness of brain tumours as a Charity Young Ambassador.
She also discussed the key points from The Charity’s general election manifesto – namely for research charities to access health data for free, to enable equal access to the best treatment and care and to ensure that the NHS has sufficient staff to help those with a brain tumour.
The Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce consists of six charities that represent those affected with brain, lung, pancreatic, oesophageal, stomach and liver cancer.
These cancers account for half of cancer deaths, while a survival rate of just 14% is much lower than that for other cancers.
As a result, MPs were invited to have their photograph taken, as they held a card to pledge their support to close the #DeadlyCancerGap for those diagnosed with a less survivable cancer.
In addition, signatories have been sought for an Early Day Motion on the same theme that was tabled by the Labour (Co-op) MP, Barry Sheerman.
The Brain Tumour Charity will continue to campaign with the other taskforce members – Action Against Heartburn, the British Liver Trust, Guts UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation – to see an improvement in patient outcomes.