A MOTHER who lost her baby to a brain tumour has welcomed a new report calling for more funding to research the disease which kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

Julie Donoghue, 30, was devastated when her three-month-old son was diagnosed in 2015 with an aggressive tumour which covered almost half of his brain.

The baby, who had been perfectly healthy until he started struggling to breathe in March last year, had three hours of emergency surgery at Leeds General Infirmary to remove the tumour but died two days later.

Jacob’s mum, who works at Morrison’s headquarters in Bradford and has an older daughter Jessica, is now expecting her third child but said Jacob would always be a part of her and his father Andy Pryce’s life.

"To lose a child is the worst possible thing and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. We talk about Jacob every day. Jessica says good morning and goodnight to him and chats about him as she rides her bike, imagining he would be doing the same thing," she said.

"We knew nothing about brain tumours before this happened. Now they are a part of our lives. It doesn’t make sense to think that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research is allocated to this devastating disease. Jacob had his whole life ahead of him. If anything good is to come out of this it will be that more money will be invested in research.

“We are committed to doing what we can to raise awareness to prevent this happening to others. We are very excited about the new baby although we have been particularly anxious this time. We’ve been assured that all is well and will be overjoyed when he is safely here. We will never forget Jacob who is forever in our hearts and a part of our family.”

Ms Donoghue, of Undercliffe Road, Eccleshill, is speaking out today to coincide with Brain Tumour Research publishing its National Research Funding Report.

Sue Farrington Smith, the charity's chief executive, said: “For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer with successive governments failing patients and their families for decades. Tragic stories like baby Jacob’s remind us all that we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue. Along with our member charities, we are campaigning for fairness in cancer research funding, so that brain tumour patients can see the same improvements in treatments and outcomes that breast cancer and leukaemia patients have.”

According to the charity’s report, fewer than ten per cent of people in the UK know that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

Brain Tumour Research is campaigning to see the national spend on brain tumour research increased to between £30 million and £35m a year, in line with breast and leukaemia cancer research, to advance treatments and ultimately find a cure.

Every week, a child dies from a brain tumour, more than those lost, under the age of 15, to leukaemia.

In 2015, the number of children dying of cancer was 194, with brain tumours taking 67 of them.

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