A DAUGHTER whose dad is battling an aggressive brain tumour has made urgent calls for more funding for research as new statistics show the number of deaths is rising rapidly.

National charity Brain Tumour Research today published new findings, showing that new cases have increased by almost a fifth since 2002, and deaths have risen by more than a quarter.

Yet despite killing more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer, brain tumour research is massively under-funded compared to more well known cancers.

Vicky Mason, from Whitehaven, said she didn’t realise how common brain tumours were until her dad, Christopher Todd, was diagnosed two years ago – or how little money is devoted to stopping them.

Today’s report reveals the true extent of that gulf, with the UK Government last year devoting less than one per cent of its total cancer research spending to brain tumours. It means that the vast majority of the funding is coming from charities like Brain Tumour Research.

Vicky, 43, of Carlton Drive, is backing its calls for the national spend to be increased to nearer £35m a year, in line with breast cancer and leukaemia research, to help find a cure.

She said: “When my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumour, I just couldn’t understand why so little was known about them. How can it be right that just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease?”

A hard-working miner and labourer, Christopher was forced to take early retirement 13 years ago after two cardiac arrests. When fell ill in 2014, they initially assumed it was his heart again.

However, following a suspected stroke, he was referred to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven for tests.

“Within two hours of arriving, we were told that dad had a brain tumour. We are a very close family so had all gone together, my dad and mum, me and my brother,” said Vicky.

“In that moment I felt that my whole world had shattered. I felt disbelief and just couldn’t absorb what I was being told.”

Further tests confirmed it was a a grade four glioblastoma multiforme – an aggressive and advanced brain tumour.

He underwent surgery in Newcastle to remove 80 per cent of the tumour, then both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Vicky said it was tough seeing someone she loved go through such intense treatment.

“I had grown up with a dad, who was bubbly and the life and soul of the party. He loved the Rolling Stones and would often be dancing and doing his Mick Jagger impersonation.

“Thinking about what he had been through, how he had changed and what might lie ahead, was devastating,” she said.

Christopher initially responded well to treatment but after remaining stable for a while, the family were told this summer that the tumour was growing.

Vicky said they were all devastated – and then had to battle all the way to get him the treatment and appointments he needs.

“This desperate situation is made worse by the fact that we have had to struggle and fight all the way to get him seen and to try to put a treatment plan together.

“It is as if there is no urgency, we have to make repeated phone calls and requests to get anything done,” she said.

“My dad is 65 with limited mobility so perhaps doctors think it’s not worth doing anything.

“Of course they don’t see my dad the way we do, a loving husband and much-loved grandad, a man who deserves a long and happy retirement – to be in his beloved garden growing vegetables.

“One thing I am certain of is that not nearly enough is known about brain tumours and there are not enough effective treatments. I cannot accept that my dad is a ‘lost cause’.”

Determined to help, Vicky has now raised more than £10,000 for Brain Tumour Research and now hopes to double that. But she is also calling on the Government to do its bit and bring brain tumour research in line with other cancers.