Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma Awareness
13. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet
colleagues on recognising 17 May as diffuse intrinsic
pontine glioma awareness day. [910726]
The NHS long-term plan makes it clear that cancer survival
is a Government priority, and we wholly support any
activity to raise awareness of devastating cancers such
as DIPG. The overwhelming message from two
powerful debates last year, here and in the other place,
spearheaded by the late Baroness , was that better outcomes for children and
adults with brain tumours lie in better research. That is
why we announced £40 million, over five years, to stimulate
innovative brain tumour research, working alongside the
Brain Cancer Research Mission.
As the Minister will be aware, having DIPG awareness day on 17 May is
very important in terms of raising the awareness of this
fatal illness, which is often overlooked and where the
prognosis has not improved in the past 40 years, despite 40
children in the UK dying from it each year. How will the
people suffering from DIPG benefit directly from the
funding that she has outlined? Does she commit to keeping
the House updated on measures to combat this serious
illness?
Let me begin by paying tribute to my constituent Paula
Holmes, who made me aware of DIPG, and to all the work she has done
in memory of her daughter Katy, who was one of the 40
children who died from it. We rely on researchers to submit
high-quality research proposals in this difficult area, and
the National Institute for Health Research has put out a
highlight notice asking for research teams. We stand ready
to translate any new discoveries as quickly as possible
into new treatments and diagnostics for patients, and I am
happy to keep the House updated.
