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brainstrust is a UK national brain tumour support charity.

We provide personalised support and build communities so people are less alone, less afraid and more in control

29/05/2026

Not sure where to look for upcoming events?

From this month onwards, all brainstrust events can be found and booked directly on our website, making it easier to see everything in one place.

Explore webinars, fundraising events and meet‑ups via our new events page, linked in the comments.⬇️

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or get in touch at [email protected]

28/05/2026

We know it can be hard to know where to start, that’s why our website has had a refresh!

We’ve redesigned the brainstrust website to make it easier to find support, information and guidance.

Whether you’re a patient, a caregiver, a healthcare professional or a fundraiser, the path to what you need should now be clear.

Check it out via the link below and let us know what you think.

27/05/2026

How are you doing in this heat? ☀️

A drink, a moment to pause, and a bit of space to gather your thoughts. Warm weather can take more out of us than we expect, especially when energy levels or concentration already feel harder to manage.

Here’s some tips for coping with the heat as we enter Summer:
• Protect treated skin - SPF 50+ every day (yes, even cloudy days), and cover radiated areas with loose breathable fabric. Treated skin burns faster and heals more slowly, sometimes for years post-treatment.
• Stay cool strategically - avoid peak sun (11am–3pm), pre-cool your space before you need it, and keep a cooling spray or damp cloth handy. Heat significantly amplifies fatigue and can temporarily worsen neurological symptoms.
• Hydrate steadily and listen to your body - sip throughout the day rather than in big gulps, and take dizziness, unusual confusion, or a sudden fatigue spike in heat seriously. Get inside, cool down, and don't push through.

If you’re unsure how the heat might be affecting you, it can help to check in with your care team or healthcare professional.

Sometimes it’s not just about taking a break, but having things written down, knowing who’s who, and feeling a little more prepared for what’s next.

Our free Brain Book is there to help you keep everything in one place, at your own pace.
Please follow the link in the comments if you’re interested.

26/05/2026

Want to see everything we have coming up in one place?

Our monthly Save the Date email went out last Friday, sharing all the support groups, workshops and sessions coming up this month.

If you’d like to receive these, you can update your contact preferences via the link in the comments below.

25/05/2026

Meet Nikki, one of our Peer Supporters 💙

We’re sharing Nikki’s experience in her own words.

Peer support at brainstrust is shaped by lived experience. Offering space to talk with someone who understands, without expectation.

If you’d like to find out more about our unique peer supporter service, you can visit the link in the comments below.

22/05/2026

When someone is diagnosed with a brain tumour, they enter a world of unfamiliar language - terms that can feel confusing, contradictory, and sometimes deeply personal.

Low grade, high grade, benign, malignant, brain tumour, brain cancer. These words are often used side by side, but they don't always mean the same thing. And for many people, the word that applies to their diagnosis doesn't capture the full reality of living with it.

That's why together with The Brain Tumour Charity, Brain Tumour Research and Brain Tumour Support we've contributed to a shared blog to help bring some clarity to this language and to explain why the words we use matter.

We know this is a topic that provokes strong feelings, and rightly so. For some people, not having their tumour called cancer feels like their experience is being minimised. For others, having it called cancer doesn't reflect their diagnosis. Both responses are completely valid and that tension is exactly what this blog explores.

Brain tumours are as individual as the people living with them. There is no single set of words that works for everyone, and this blog isn't trying to tell anyone what to call their diagnosis. It's trying to explain why it's complicated and why that complexity deserves more than a one-size-fits-all answer.

You can find the link to the blog in the comments below. If this brings anything up for you, you’re welcome to reach out to us at [email protected] to have a chat about it.

21/05/2026

Sometimes, when you’re affected by a brain tumour, life can feel like too much to handle - the treatment, the anxiety, the overwhelm, the uncertainty.

Have you ever thought about writing it down? ✍️

Join us on Thursday 28 May, 11:00–12:15 for our Introduction to Creative Writing session for patients and caregivers.

Discover writing for pleasure, explore when it might support you personally, and how it can offer a sense of connection, purpose, or hope.

Led by Andrew Kauffman, a coach and tutor of therapeutic writing, this gentle, paced session will explore why we write, the stories we might want to tell, and how writing can support wellbeing. You can take part in whatever way feels right for you, writing only if and when you feel comfortable.

If you’re interested, please follow the link in the comments below for more details. ⬇️

20/05/2026

Today is International Clinical Trials Day 🔬

Clinical trials are how we move from hope to progress. However, the most meaningful trials don’t happen in a vacuum, they happen when the people living with a diagnosis are involved from the start.

That’s what PRIME (Patient Research Involvement MovEment) does. PRIME brings people with direct experience of brain tumours into the heart of the research process: reviewing trial proposals, contributing to funding applications, and helping ensure research asks the questions that truly matter.

To date, PRIME has helped attract £32 million of investment into brain tumour research. Not as a tick‑box exercise, but by making sure patient voices genuinely shape the science.

PRIME is delivered by brainstrust in partnership with Brain Tumour Research. Together, we are supporting people today while helping shape research for those diagnosed in the future.

At brainstrust, we are led by you. If you’re living with a brain tumour, or supporting someone who is, and would like to be part of this, we’d love to hear from you.

Please follow the link in the comments below for more details on PRIME:

19/05/2026

Living with a brain tumour, or supporting someone who is, can place the brain under constant pressure. Waiting for results, navigating decisions, and managing uncertainty can build up over time.

Join us next Wednesday 27th May 2pm-3pm for our neuroscience informed hypnotherapy introductory session, exploring how the brain responds to stress, and introducing practical, gentle techniques to help shift away from persistent threat responses.

Led by an applied neuroscientist and hypnotherapist, the session offers space to better understand what’s happening, alongside simple tools to support wellbeing and help you regain control.

Please follow the link in the comments if you are interested. ⬇️

18/05/2026

Meet Matthew, one of our Peer Supporters 💙

We’re sharing Matthew’s experience in his own words.

Peer support at brainstrust is shaped by lived experience. Offering space to talk with someone who understands, without expectation.

If you’d like to find out more about our unique peer supporter service, you can visit the link in the comments below.

Address

4 Yvery Court, Castle Road
Cowes
PO317QG

Telephone

+441983292405

Website

http://www.brainstrust.org.uk/

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