Chris Blastland Survived a Brain Tumor and is running the Great North Run to bring more attention to the disease

Chris Blastland, survived a brain tumor, is running the Great North Run, helping to fund research into the disease.  41-year-old Chris, from Tonbridge, Kent (UK) is running to raise money for the Brain Tumor Research charity. As a teenager, Chris underwent surgery to remove a low-grade tumor. He is motivated by the fact that brain tumors kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.  Chris is also running in memory of his wife’s uncle, Mark Duffy. Despite having chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, Mark died just 11 months after diagnosis with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) – a highly aggressive type of tumor.   Chris, a sales director, said: “Though I am looking forward to the Great North Run, completing the event will be emotional.” “Losing Mark to a brain tumor was heart-breaking and it shocks me, even now, how quickly it all happened. What happened to Mark also opened my eyes to how prevalent the disease is and I want to somehow help change this. I count myself as one of the lucky ones to have survived this disease but I know more needs to be done to prevent others going through what happened to Mark.”

posted Saturday August 11th