A BEREAVED sister has spoken of her “outrage” at drop in spending to find a cure for brain tumours following the death of her brother from the disease.

Shardi Shameli of Worcester, lost her brother Ashley to a brain tumour and has campaigned for more research in the ongoing hunt for a cure.

The barrister was among patients, carers, activists, charities and politicians who attended the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on brain tumours which took place at Westminster on Wednesday, July 13.

The newly-released figures from the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) show the total national spend on cancer research allocated to research into brain tumours decreased to just 1.37 per cent in 2015.

Ashley Shameli, of St John’s, Worcester, died in March 2012 aged 30, eight years after being diagnosed with a grade two astrocytoma.

The brain tumour was discovered after he suffered a massive epileptic fit.

Mr Shameli underwent pioneering treatment with surgeon Henry Marsh but died eight years later.

Miss Shameli, who attended the APPG, said: “Ashley had great resolve and determination which I am sure helped. Towards the end we cared for him at home and our brother Shervin and I both gave up our jobs to be with him for every moment we had.

“Ashley lost his sight, movement and speech. I’m not sure if he could hear us but we kept talking to him and telling him how much we loved him. It was my great privilege to be at his side, holding his hand, when he died on March 5, 2012.

“There is nothing I can do to bring Ashley back but I am doing my utmost to raise awareness of this dreadful disease. "Brain tumours kill more children and adults who, like my brother, are under 40 than any other cancer yet just 1 per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allowed to this devastating disease. This is unacceptable.

“The fact that spending fell during 2015 is outrageous particularly when we know that incidences of brain tumours are increasing.

"It is vital we continue to put pressure on the Government and the larger cancer charities.”

Earlier this year the influential House of Commons Petitions Committee found that “successive governments had failed brain tumour patients and their families for decades”.

In a Westminster Hall debate prompted by an online petition which attracted more than 120,000 signatures, Health Minister George Freeman MP accepted the report findings and announced a number of measures to discuss how to address the need for more brain tumour research.

Sue Farrington Smith, chief executive of the charity Brain Tumour Research, who has provided the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group since 2005, said: “It was an incredible milestone for the brain tumour community to shine a light on this issue with the unprecedented success of the original e-petition, the Petitions Committee report and subsequent Parliamentary debate.

"But we can’t stop there. We look forward to playing a key role in the Government’s Task and Finish working group to drive the Petitions Committee’s recommendations forward.

“We are calling for the national investment in brain tumour research to be increased to £30 to £35 million per annum.”