Guy Opperman presents cheque to Theresa Dauncey from The Brain Appeal
Guy Opperman handed over a cheque for £3,050 – raised during a sponsored six day walk – to help boost research and diagnosis into a wide range of neurological disorders, including stroke, dementia and brain cancer.
Following the presentation, he said: “Why did I walk Hadrian’s Wall? I wanted to prove my fitness and raise funds for this amazing hospital and the nurses and doctors who cope with tremendous pressures with good humour and do so much to change the lives of their individual patients.
“I was seriously ill and disabled, with a potentially life threatening brain tumour, and within months I was hiking, horse racing and back to work. I want to promote all the good things Queen Square and its neuro teams are doing.”
Mr Opperman underwent a craniotomy last May to remove a 2 inch non-malignant tumour just millimetres from his brain: he describes his consultant surgeon Mr Neil Kitchen as “amazingly skilled”.
Just three months later, he was fit enough to walk along Hadrian’s Wall from Newcastle to Carlisle through his Hexham constituency.
The National Brain Appeal is funding the new Neuroimaging Analysis Centre, due to open 6 March, to improve Neuroradiology research and clinical facilities. The immediate benefit seen by patients will be the improved turnaround in the reporting of radiological images to determine diagnosis and the most effective treatments. More than 29,000 patients undergo brain scans at the NHNN each year.
MP Guy Opperman (left) meets Susan Wakeling, Radiology Services Manager as Professor Tarek Yousry, Head of the Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology and Theresa Dauncey , Chief Executive of The National Brain Appeal look on.
Overall, the number of patients referred has more than doubled in the last five years following the expansion of its stroke services, the opening of the Brain Tumour Unit and increasing demand across the sector
The Neuroimaging Analysis Centre at Queen Square will also radically enhance translational research and, ultimately the treatment of patients, by harnessing the skills of radiologists, physicists, clinical scientists and researchers into one cohesive unit.
Mr Opperman, collapsed at the House Of Commons after suffering blinding headaches, blurred eyesight and vomiting and wrote about his experiences in a Mail on Sunday newspaper article. He donated the proceeds to The National Brain Appeal, as well as his local hospice.
In his blog, he names consultant surgeon Mr Neil Kitchen as his “person of the year.”
“He literally saved my life,” he added.
The Neuroimaging Analysis Centre appeal is now in its final stages. Over £1 million has been raised. If you would like to make a donation to help us reach the final £80,000, please contact the fundraising team on 020 3448 4724. Cheques should be made payable to The National Brain Appeal and sent to:
Box 123
Queen Square
London
WC1N 3BG
- The National Brain Appeal is committed to raise £1.35 million of a £1.7-million project for the creation of a Neuroimaging Analysis Centre. The registered charity, dedicated to raising funds for the NHNN, has donated more than £35 million for equipment, buildings and research since it was established in 1984. Projects include the UK’s first dedicated brain tumour unit, a new suite of scanners, Clinical Neuroscience Centre, The Dementia Research Centre and The Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases.
- The Neuroimaging Analysis Centre will be part of The Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology - a multi-disciplinary team of around 50 healthcare professionals performing over 29,000 examinations and procedures each year. Their leading edge services include: CT and MRI scanning, diagnostic and interventional neuroangiography, carotid and transcranial Doppler US, general X-ray and theatre radiography. The department has the first IMRI Suite in Europe incorporating an MRI scanner and angiography suite into an operating theatre which is revolutionising brain tumour and deep brain stimulator neurosurgery. Clinical imaging is reported on in-house by specialist radiologists led by 10 consultants.