Scots swimmer Archie Goodburn is due to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham after he made an emotional plea for more investment into brain cancer research. Archie said the meeting with the Prime Minister represented a "unique opportunity for change".
The 25-year-old was diagnosed with three inoperable oligodendroglioma when he was just 22 and has advocated for more investment and action to be taken on brain tumours.
Emotional plea on BBC Breakfast
His plea on BBC Breakfast in August sparked a powerful reaction from viewers with the athlete begging for him and others living with brain tumours to be given a chance to "fight for their lives". He said: "Please invest and make the difference. I'm on my knees begging for not just my own life but those who are affected and the families all around the country."
Burnham responded to the plea and invited Goodburn to a meeting to discuss funding for further brain tumour research and other action that could be taken. They are now expected to meet today.
Diagnosis and advocacy
Swimmer Archie began suffering from seizures ahead of the 2024 Olympics trial, which he missed out on by a narrow margin. He later learned there were three large inoperable tumours in his brain.
Following his diagnosis, Archie has become an advocate for people living with brain tumours and has called for patients to have access to new and more effective treatment options. During his time on BBC Breakfast in August, Archie called for clinical trials happening elsewhere in the world to be tried in the UK.
He said: "Please establish a national brain cancer lead and give us a chance to fight for our lives because the things that patients are going through out there are unbelievable and so unjust. There are clinical trials around the world, in the US, in Australia, in China, that could change lives."
"We are not seeing them in the UK and it is unfair and unjust. Please invest and make the difference. I'm on my knees begging for - not just my own life - but for those of my best friends and those that are affected and the families around the country."
More than 13,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year. It is not a single disease with there being over 120 identified types of brain tumour.
