08 March 2022
“Girl, 6, would have been dead within a week had optician not spotted orange-sized brain tumour that hospital doctors dismissed as a migraine.” – Daily Mail
“Eye test saves teenager's life after optician finds tumour on her brain.” – Daily Telegraph
“Teenager who went for routine eye test found out she had brain tumour the size of a melon.” – Daily Mirror
Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. These headlines shine a powerful light on this disease, which is killing more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
Optometrists and ophthalmologists are heroes on the front-line of the fight against this devastating disease, detecting the signs of brain tumours often after other health checks have been inconclusive.
Please join in with Wear A Hat Day and bring a much-needed focus on brain tumours.
Wear A Hat Day is the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month and takes place on Friday 25 March 2022. This important brain tumour research fundraising and awareness event is increasingly popular as more and more opticians in UK are signing up to join in every year.
To get your optical business involved, please register today and get your free fundraising pack by visiting www.wearahatday.org.
Several of our well-known celebrity ambassadors are fronting the campaign this year, including TV personalities, Danny Clarke and Sarah Beeny, actor and long-time supporter, Dame Sheila Hancock DBE, and our patron, Caprice Bourret, and they are urging you to join in.
Danny lost his sister to a brain tumour; Sheila’s grandson was treated for a brain tumour when he was just four years old; Sarah was in her 20s when she lost her mum to brain tumour; Caprice had surgery for a brain tumour six years ago.
Our ambassadors are using their popularity and influence to maximise awareness and are encouraging everyone to take part and help fund the fight against this devastating disease.
Wear A Hat Day was established over decade ago and has raised more than £2 million to help fund crucial research.
Despite this, research into brain tumours is still massively underfunded, with just 1% of the national spend on cancer research allocated to this devastating disease.
Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK focused on finding a cure for all types of brain tumours through campaigning to increase the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million per year, while fundraising to create a network of seven sustainable Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence across the UK.
Funds raised from Wear A Hat Day this year will help towards establishing a brand new Research Centre of Excellence, and we are planning to invite applications from key universities and institutions later in 2022.
Help us fund the fight. Together we will find a cure.
