Gran's fight for children's cancer research reaches Commons

A grandmother who launched a petition calling for more research into childhood cancer will finally give evidence before a Commons committee.

Fiona Govan, from Ayrshire, started the petition after her three-year-old grandson, Logan, died from a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) brain tumour in 2017.

The petition passed it’s 100,000 target in July last year, after Celtic captain Scott Brown, whose sister died from cancer, and ex-player and cancer survivor John Hartson backed the campaign.

Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer also supported the campaign, saying: “It’s beyond tragic how many children die each year from brain tumours.”

On Thursday, she will give evidence to the commons committee virtually after waiting almost a year to have her say.

“I am just desperate to not let down the other families, because although I’m kind of giving evidence to the committee, there are so many other families, parents, grandparents, siblings who I need to speak for as well,” Fiona said.

‘I don’t want to let them down.”

Fiona says that the government are “letting children down over generations” by not funding more research, adding that her grandchild received treatment in 2017 that was in use in the 60s.

“Logan got the same treatment in 2016/2017 that Neil Armstrong’s daughter did in 1962. That can’t be right,” she said.

Fiona believes she will never stop fighting for more research into childhood cancer.

“The need, the desire to stop it happening to other people, I don’t imagine that’s ever going to go,” she said.

“I dont think I’ll ever stop trying to do something about this until the first child is cured frankly, and I hope that’s in my lifetime. I’m not sure it will be.”