The government is going to double its investment into brain cancer research to £40m a year, in honour of Tessa Jowell, a Labour Party politician who passed away from the disease last Saturday.
What it means: Brain cancer affects 11,400 people per year in the UK. It's a rare disease which varies immensely from person to person, and given it's in the brain, it's very hard to treat without doing damage.
Unlike other, more common illnesses where an investment into research and treatment facilities will pay off for hundreds of thousands of people, investing in brain cancer research requires a lot of money for a very low number of patients, each of whom will need bespoke treatment. Some have suggested cross-country funding, but that's difficult because of the different regulations on healthcare that exist around the world.
Undeterred, Tessa Jowell spoke passionately to Parliament several times in the last few months of her life about the importance of funding brain cancer research and high quality trials across the country. The government pledged £20m in February, and doubled this at the news of her passing.
