Brain Tumour Support NZ Plans Programme Of Events For Brain Tumour Awareness Month

May is Brain Tumour Awareness Month in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally. It is the busiest month of the year for Brain Tumour Support NZ, a charity set up to support and advocate for New Zealanders living with a brain tumour.

“Estimates suggest as many as 7,000 New Zealanders may be living with a brain tumour yet not a lot is known about them,” according to Brain Tumour Support NZ chief executive, Sarah Verran.

“There are over 130 different types of primary brain tumour and each sub-type is considered rare. Perhaps for this reason they tend to fly under the radar and don’t get the attention they deserve,” said Sarah.

Brain Tumour Support NZ’s signature awareness raising campaign is Brainy Beanies, now in its fifth year. The brainchild of the charity’s chair, Sarah Gibb, Brainy Beanies encourages knitters and crafters from around the country to design and donate bespoke beanies to be sold at events such as Fieldays, through schools and workplaces, and online through the charity’s website.

“Brainy Beanies are a highly visible and fun way to raise awareness about brain tumours, while also raising vital funds for our patient and caregiver support programmes,” Sarah Gibb said.

One such programme is the Brain Box, a care and information package delivered free around the country to newly diagnosed brain tumour patients. The Brain Box contains a set of booklets containing information about diagnosis, treatment, and how to live well with a brain tumour. There is also a range of wellbeing gifts, including a Brainy Beanie, in every Box. “Brain Boxes are one of our most impactful services,” says Verran. “In 2025 alone, we sent nearly 300 Brain Boxes to people newly diagnosed and since the inception of the service in 2021, over 1200.

Brain Tumour Support NZ is holding several other events during May, including its annual Patient and Caregiver Meeting in Hamilton on 17th May which features world-renowned Indian neuro-oncologist Dr Rakesh Jalali as the keynote speaker.

The following weekend on Saturday 23rd May, the charity will be holding its annual fundraiser at Melville Rugby Club in Hamilton, “A Night To Raise An Outrageous Fortune”, a bogan-themed bingo night with auctions, raffles and spot prizes. Tickets to the event are available through the Brain Tumour Support NZ website.

“Our team has been working hard to put these events together for Brain Tumour Awareness Month and we’re looking forward to a busy month of engagement, sharing kōrero and fundraising,” said Sarah Verran.

“At Brain Tumour Support NZ, we’re motivated and inspired by the members of the New Zealand brain tumour community - people whose lives have been thrown into disarray upon hearing the words you have a brain tumour”, Sarah said.

Sarah is issuing a call-to-action: “We hope that Kiwis will show their support by attending one of our May events, buying a Brainy Beanie or making a donation through our website. Raising more awareness of brain tumours is an important first step in achieving better care, better treatments and ultimately better outcomes for brain tumour patients and their whānau.” “Every brain tumour diagnosis changes a life in an instant, not

just for the individual, but for their entire whānau,” says Sarah Verran. “This May, we’re asking people to turn awareness into action and help ensure no one has to face that journey alone.”

ABOUT BRAIN TUMOURS

• Around 400 New Zealanders are diagnosed with primary brain cancer each year representing 1.4% of all cancers diagnosed. Many more are diagnosed with secondary, or metastatic, brain tumours (cancers which have spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body).

• The 5 year survival rate for glioblastoma, the most common type of brain cancer in adults, is just 5%. • Survival rates for brain cancer have not improved significantly in the last 30 years. • Around 275 New Zealanders die each year from brain cancer, making it the 10th most fatal cancer. • Brain cancer is the biggest cancer killer of children in New Zealand, being responsible for 42% of all childhood cancer deaths (almost double that of leukaemia).

• Brain tumours can affect anyone, of any ethnicity, and at any age. The causes of most brain tumours are unknown so prevention and screening are not possible.

ABOUT BRAIN TUMOUR SUPPORT NZ

Brain Tumour Support NZ is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all New Zealanders affected by brain tumours through advocacy, support services, and educational initiatives. Founded with a commitment to raising awareness and driving research, the organisation offers a range of resources to help patients and their families navigate their journey from diagnosis to treatment and beyond.

Website:

www.braintumoursupport.org.nz

Tickets to A Night To Raise An Outrageous Fortune:

https://a-night-to-raise-an-outrageous-fortune.raiselysite.com/

© Scoop Media